Anomaly
by Dark Magician Girl Aeris
Summary: When Mewtwo erased his memory from the minds of Team Rocket, he overlooked the computers they used in studying him. Now a second member of the race has been created by even more unorthodox means than the first. And boy, is she mad!
1. Birth

Hey, all, Aeris here. I don't know what I'm thinking, re-writing this, but I am. I guess it's because I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately. Re-visiting my old Pokemon fic seemed like a good idea, remind me of all the friends who helped me come up with it, and the laughs we used to have. Only... well, I looked at it, and it was a piece of crap that begged to be re-written before I could even stomach the fact that yes, I wrote this. And somehow, I have. I've sit down long enough to re-think, re-vamp, and re-write. So I give you the revival of... yea gods... the very first fanfiction I ever wrote. Aheh...

_

* * *

There comes a time in every person's life where they change. It can be a change of heart, a change of mind, a change of attitude, or a change of style. Sometimes it's something as simple as a new haircut that gives them a boost in confidence, a small thing that's completely in their control. Sometimes, though, it's more drastic than that. Much more drastic. Sometimes it's an outside force that rips through their life like a bullet and leaves their whole existence in tattered shreds. And sometimes, they have no control at all over where this bullet is aimed or what it hits along the way. In times like this, it is the truly strong who hold on to the will to survive. One can only hope that will alone is enough..._

* * *

Cheryl brushed a length of black hair over her shoulder as she looked at the chart she was holding. All of the vital signs were strong, the heavily monitored brain waves indicative of a peaceful, albeit chemically induced, sleep. In other words, everything was going just fine. She sighed softly and set the charts down, looking over at the large tank. Sometimes she wished it _wasn't_ going just fine. Sometimes she wished she would come into work to find the lab in a state of panic because the poor creature had just up and _died_ on them. But even as she wished it would just end, she knew it wouldn't. If this specimen died, they would just make another. And another, and another, and another, until they were done. It wouldn't just end. It just wouldn't end. 

Sometimes she wished she could just walk over there and pull the power cord, but she couldn't. She needed this job. She needed the pay. No one else would pay a nobody like her this well. Then again, she knew the reason the employees of this lab were so accommodated for. So they would keep their mouths shut. After all, if someone were to just casually mention that they were a Team Rocket lab assistant, it could bring down the whole operation. Especially _this_ operation.

She settled into a threadbare office chair at a small, cluttered desk, glancing briefly at her coworkers. The nightshift was dull, more of a formality than anything else. All of the experimenting was done during the day. At night, there were just a few lab techs on hand to be sure nothing went wrong. Or at least, there were _supposed_ to be a few lab techs on hand. The actual technicians usually sat in the staff room were the vending machines were, playing poker. It was their assistants who kept an eye on things. After all, why should the techs have to do non-existent work when the little assistants were so desperate for their jobs, they'd do whatever they were told? Well, maybe there was one who would do his job. Cheryl idly drummed her fingers on the desk, glancing over at her redheaded co-worker Yota, who was balancing a pencil on one finger and humming along to the music from his radio. The young man was a gifted scientist, she knew, but he was also a widower, who took this thankless job to support his six-year-old daughter, working nights so that he could spend time with the child during the day. She wondered how he did it. How could he go home and pick his daughter up without feeling guilty? How could _any_ of them go home without feeling guilty?

Without her realizing it, Cheryl's eyes strayed to the tank, to the creature in the tank. Even curled up as it was, one could tell that it was at least five feet tall, probably closer to five and a half. Pale body, probably white, but it was impossible to say for certain when viewing it through the yellowish fluids that contained it. It had a vividly dark underbelly and tail. The tail was long and thick, bigger around than the young woman's own arm. If this one rebelled, it could snap a man's back with just it's tail alone. Powerful legs, too, whereas the arms were slender. It would be a biped, when it woke up. Cheryl wondered if this one was female or not. The base had been female, after all. All the pictures showed pretty young girl with long, luxurious hair. This one had thick, long hair as well, hair that bobbed and swayed, rising and falling with the current of the liquids that were constantly being filtered in and out of the container. It looked, to the assistant, perfectly out of place on a Pokémon. She pushed her own hair out of her eyes again unconsciously as she studied the thing's face. Its face reminded her of a cat. With its head tilted down, even just a little, one could not see the mouth. The ears, too, were barely visible, just peeking out of the hair that floated about its head like a halo. What one _could_ see was the way the closed eyes sloped upwards just a little, and how wide they were across. It would have big eyes...

"It's easier to get through the night if you don't look at it, you know." Cheryl was snapped out of her idle thoughts by the sudden intrusion of words. Yota was looking across the room at her rather sadly. "It becomes more real, the more you look at it." She nodded silently, recalling dimly that Yota had been with the project from the very beginning. If anyone knew what to expect, it was him. She reached down to open the bottom drawer of the desk, groping around for the paperback romance novel she'd hidden there. She would pass the night by reading, same as she always did. Cheryl was a frequent face at the local library because she could usually read five or six good books in a single week, and owning that many books on her pay was simply out of the question. Tonight, she would finish the lurid tale of love and deceit and start on a good science fiction.

Or at least, she would have, had some primal instinct not compelled her to look back towards the tank. The book that she had been pulling from the drawer fell to the floor with a soft rustling of pages. For just a moment, the Pokémon's head had lifted, and open eyes stared vacantly at the nothingness before it. They were only half-open, but Cheryl could see how dark they were. She tried to call out to her co-workers, get them to look too, but all that she could muster up in her shock was a small, weak croaking sound. Then the exotic eyes lifted their gaze, until the creature's vision actually locked onto Cheryl herself. For a second, it seemed to meet her gaze, and then the narrow head dipped low and the eyes drifted shut once more, as though nothing had happened.

Cheryl sat there, numb, as the handful of people around her exploded into action, still unable to process what she had just seen. She was vaguely aware of one of the other lab assistants shaking her shoulders and calling her name, but none of it really seemed to register anymore...

* * *

Yota had just been going back to considering ideas for his daughter's next birthday party when the strangled cry from two desks over caught his attention and held it. The young lab assist who had been studying the creature earlier was starting at the tank again, but this time her face was an ashen white. He had followed her stricken gaze just in time to see a pair of almond eyes closing. 

Now, less than an hour later, the whole lab was in an uproar. The computers had confirmed that yes, there had been a spike in brain activity. For just a moment, the creature had actually been awake. The day techs were being called in now, and the boss was already on his way. The lab assistant girl, Cheryl, was sitting off in a corner. He'd been about to tell her to go home when it occurred to him that if the Pokémon did wake up fully, it might be useful for her to be here. After all, she was the only one who it had made eye contact with. If, by some chance, it had formed some psychic bond on her in those few moments, the woman's presence could keep the creature from becoming unruly like... well, like the last one supposedly had.

The truth was, no one really knew anything about the last one of these things that Team Rocket tried to make. Or rather, no one remembered anything they might have known. The files were just... there. Instructions on how to create, to clone, the perfect bio-weapon. The results of tests that were done on the original. Video and sound files that blatantly put it's power out in the open. Looking at the files, reading about the creature's abilities, it had become apparent that there was only one real flaw in this near-perfect creation of science.

It had been too damn powerful.

Of course, that hadn't stopped Team Rocket's leader from demanding that they re-create the project. They had material samples, both of the cloned and the original DNA. But this time, they would take more precautions. Tamper with the DNA a bit. Make the clone weaker than the original, not stronger. Make it tamer. Make it manageable. Instead of creating the clone from simply the DNA of the original, grow it from a base of a different species. Maybe a human base. It could speed the growth, at least, even if it didn't put a damper on its capabilities...

Yota shoved the thoughts out of his head. Thinking about it made it real, damn it. He couldn't let it be real. He had to keep it as a bad nightmare in his head so that he could go home every morning and wake his daughter for school. He sighed, looking at the can of hot coffee the vending machine had just supplied. He'd better call in the morning, let his little girl know that daddy might not be home for a few days, and that she was to go to a friend's house after school. The odds were good that if he did make it home, it would only be to sleep for a few hours before coming back to work.

Glancing back across the lab, the tech found himself reaching into his wallet for enough cash to get another coffee from the machine. Well, why not? The poor assistant would undoubtedly be here for a while, too. What harm could there be in sharing? He grabbed the hot can, tossing it in the air a bit so he wouldn't burn his palm, and made his way across the bustling room to the confused young woman he'd parked in a corner. She didn't even seem to notice he was there until he dangled the can in front of her face. "Drink up. It's going to be a long night."

* * *

So tired... 

Why was it so hard to just wake up?

Everything seemed so... dull. Insubstantial sensations, muffled sounds. The world moved around her, bustling and busy, but she herself felt heavy, lethargic. It was a struggle to just open her eyes...

* * *

It was awake again. It hadn't moved yet, but the computers said it was awake. Yota watched, suddenly anxious, as the day techs that had taken over for him oversaw the draining of the tank. If this project was a success, if it really worked out, then the Pokémon would be transferred over to the Team Rocket caretakers, and Yota and the other geneticists and technicians would be handsomely rewarded for their efforts and granted leave from Team Rocket's laboratories. It was money he could use to pay off the little house he and his daughter lived in, so he could take a smaller, more legal job, one that he would be able to admit to having. 

The tank was drained almost completely now, enough so that the Pokémon had sunk to the bottom. It was starting to stir slightly now, but it's eyes had not opened again.

* * *

The heaviness was worse now. And the sounds around her were clearer, no longer muffled and indistinct. Sharp, loud voices. Mechanical whirs and beeps. Shuffling feet. Papers. The physical sensations were more distinct, too. A hard surface bellow, a smooth surface behind. The slight chill of dampness. A rustiness, stiffness, in her whole body. A sour taste in her mouth. 

Nothing felt right.

* * *

The boss was here now, the head of Team Rocket. Giovanni, they called him. As though it was the only name he needed. It probably was, Yota mused as he watched the crime lord talk to the young assistant. Cheryl was nodding her head silently. Yota watched as they carried on like this for a while, and then made his way over to her once Giovanni had walked off. "What did he say?" 

The young woman was coiling a strand of hair around her finger. "He said I have to stay near the tank, just in case."

"In case you made some sort of impression on it."

Her response was a weak nod. "He said that if I have... made an impression... I'll have to stay on the project indefinitely... but they'll triple my pay, if I can keep it in line..."

"Can't say I envy you there."

* * *

Cheryl nodded numbly. This isn't how things were supposed to happen. She should get some money, get some training, get the medicine her grandmother needed, and get out. Not stay and keep watch over... over... whatever! 

She sighed and looked at the Pokémon. With the tank drained, she could see that the main body was white, and apparently covered in very fine fur. It was a crisp, pure white, like snow. The tail and belly, on the other hand, were a brilliantly deep magenta. The long hair was the same, with bold fuchsia highlights running through it. Such a strange, exotic looking thing...

Yota was staring at her. "You're positively entranced by that thing, aren't you?"

"Maybe I am," Cheryl only half-joked as she rested a hand on the glass. "It's an entrancing thing, I guess. Yota... what we're looking at right now, no one's ever seen before. She's one-of-a-kind..."

"She?"

Cheryl blinked. Who had said- oh, wait. She had. "Yeah... she. Why shouldn't she be?" She looked up at the technician. "The base was a girl."

The redhead shook his head as he turned away. "Just don't get too attached."

I won't, the young woman thought indignantly as she turned her attention back to the tank, and her possible charge. And thought her heart would stop.

The Pokémon was opening its eyes!

* * *

There... the world around her seemed to stop for a few brief moments as she looked around her for the first time. She had to blink her eyes for a while before she could actually see, but then she saw people. Lots of people, and machines. She was walled in by... she stared both at it and through it, and after a moment, the word came to her. _Glass._ There was glass on all sides of her. And a person, closer than all the others, with a hand on the glass. She stared at the hand, then reached up to press her own against the glass next to it. Her own hand was different. The human had a thumb and four fingers, five digits in all, but she had only three, oddly shaped at that. She studied her hand for a moment, fascinated by it, before looking again at the one on the other side of the glass, and the person it was attached to. It was a woman, although she didn't know how she knew. The woman was looking at her with the most puzzling expression. She looked a little confused, a little afraid, sad and awed at the same time. The creature looked around her again. They all had that expression, except for one. A tall, imposing man stood with his hands behind his back, looking smugly satisfied as he looked her over. The Pokémon stared at them all, even as they stared back, and then finally could take the silence no more. She looked back up at the woman with her hand pressed to the glass. **"Where... where am I?"**

And the world around her erupted with activity once more.

* * *

Everything got busy again once they heard it speak. Some of the scientists got right back to work, checking vitals and brain waves, while others clapped each other on the back and congratulated each other. Kazu, his personal assistant, was among those that celebrated. He greeted Yota with a hearty clap on the back and a jovial "We're free!" before running over to chat with Reiko, a cute day tech he'd been seeing on his days off. The youth had been assigned to the project at the same time he had, and both would be glad to be rid of it. Rid of it. Yes, they would be rid of this thing. Team Rocket would be rid of this thing, too, if he had his way about it...

* * *

Now, I know this doesn't seem like humor yet, but believe me, once my... ahem... 'creation' wakes up a bit, things get funny. Eve is the most complex character I've ever done, which is probably why I couldn't write her well at first. She also has a strange, twisted sense of humor. Also, there's another character forthcoming who'll add to the humor factor. She always does.

I also need to make note of the rating. It seems low now, but language and violence are going to escalate. Especially if my main character sticks to her usual habits of having fun at other people's expense. Knowing Eve, she probably will...

The funny thing is, I gave myself a couple of 'taboo' words as a challenge, ones I would not use in the first chapter. Somehow, I managed it. Anyway, it's kinda fun re-doing this and seeing how I've grown as an authoress since I started writing, wow, about five years ago. I hope you all enjoy the ride as much as I do! Thanks!

Aeris


	2. Names

Ohayo! Aeris here! Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed, I really appreciate it! I've churned out another chapter, and I like how it's going. There were a few tough spots to write, but I think I did well. So let's go!

_

* * *

_

_Humans put too little faith in compassion. In the darkest times, it's the compassion of others that gives us strength for the long haul. Having that one person who believes in you can be an inspiration, but having that one person who feels for you can be the motivation you need to save the world. But the greater salvation lies in finding the compassion inside yourself. Because if you can't find the compassion in yourself, how can you recognize the compassion in others?_

* * *

Cheryl didn't go home in the morning. 

The fact that the thing spoke with its... _her_ attention focused on the young assistant was all the confirmation Giovanni had seemed to need that the creature had taken to her somehow. And so she had stayed at the lab, stayed right through sunrise and into the morning, watching the poor thing grow more and more confused. The Pokémon didn't know where she was, hell, she didn't even know who she was, and apparently there were strict rules on what she could and could not be told, because Giovanni took it upon himself to speak to the creature, and would not let anyone interfere.

The Pokémon was of a race man created. Cloned from the DNA of the legendary phantom Pokémon, Mew, the _Mewtwo_, as she was called, was supposed to be an enhanced, _modernized_ version of her predecessor. She was designed with battle in mind, and had enhanced power, strength, and speed capabilities. Her purpose was to serve Team Rocket, and Giovanni specifically, and it was a duty she was meant to uphold without complaint; they had given her life, after all. Cheryl felt herself growing slightly ill as she listened. How could _anyone_ view another living creature this way, even if they _had_ brought it into the world? She should have pulled the plug while she still had the chance...

She stood looking through a one-way window- the kind where one side is glass and the other is mirror- at her new charge. The Pokémon had been moved to this room almost immediately. From what Cheryl understood, it was like an armored truck, heavily protected. The only difference was, the walls were reinforced not to keep people out, but the Pokémon inside. They had fitted rings on the unfortunate experiment almost immediately, black mechanical hoops with small flashing red lights. They were on the poor creature's wrists and ankles, as well as a dark collar around her neck. The Pokémon sat examining these rings as one of the technicians told Cheryl exactly what they were- restraints. Right now, the creature was as an adolescent human child, young and not fully developed. As she grew, so would her powers. The restraints would take effect once her psychic energy reached a certain level, holding it there so that she would not be able to use her full strength, and could be contained.

"Won't that hurt her, though?" Cheryl didn't know she was going to ask the question until the words poured out, unbidden. The technician looked surprised, and then thoughtful.

"I suppose there would be some discomfort, but not enough that the subject would really be aware of it. The point is, we can't take any chances that this thing will become unruly. It's just too dangerous." Then why bother making her in the first place, Cheryl wondered bitterly. The technician continued. "Now, the subject has been told that the rings are there to protect it from any energy surges it might have, so it won't hurt itself. It's critical that it keeps believing this. Understood?"

Cheryl nodded an affirmative, and stood silent as a panel in the wall slid open, allowing her into the holding room. The Pokémon looked up as she came in, watching her with wary eyes. The poor creature was nervous. It made her suspicious. Deep, rich red eyes, the color of garnets, followed the young woman's every move. The tech walked over to a sort of a bench running along the far side of the room and sat down, the red eyes following her the whole time. She shifted a little bit to get comfortable. "Hey there."

"_Hullo." _The voice, for lack of a better term, was low, sullen. It was most definitely feminine, like a moody teenage girl. The word was not actually spoken, either; the Mewtwo had raised her head to watch Cheryl just enough that the human woman could see the Pokémon's mouth, and it hadn't opened or even moved in the slightest. Cheryl shifted just a little bit more. If the Pokémon was speaking with a psychic voice, then didn't that mean she had to get into the heads of those around her? Could she read peoples minds that way?

The human decided she'd better break the silence. "My name is Cheryl," she said gently. "It's my job to keep an eye on you."

The Pokémon lowered her head a bit; now all Cheryl could see was the garnet eyes. _"Do I need to be kept an eye on?" _The question was asked in a critical manner, and the young woman winced slightly at the tone. Maybe she'd used the wrong wording on that. She quickly tried to salvage the situation.

"Well, yes, but not in the way it sounds. I'm supposed to take care of you, see? Like, if you get hungry, I could bring you food, or if you didn't understand something, I could help explain it to you."

"_There's a lot of things I don't understand,"_ the Pokémon said matter-of-factly, _"And I have a hard time thinking that a woman who hardly seems to know what she wants to say could explain that much of it to me." _Cheryl had to bite back a rather harsh comment, choosing instead to remain silent. It was true, damn it, she didn't know what to say. She looked away, not wanting to see those exotic eyes staring at her any more. Why was she here anyway? She didn't want this at all. She still felt the red eyes boring into her even as she looked the other way. She said nothing, choosing instead to let the Pokémon break the silence with another question. _"So... Cheryl... now what?"_

For the life of her, Cheryl couldn't answer that.

* * *

It amazed her how conceited these people could be. Okay, maybe some of the humans, most of them really, weren't all that conceited. Those were the ones that were afraid of her. The ones that weren't afraid, though, were conceited. Conceited and condescending and stuck-up and a whole mess of other things, too. The Pokémon quickly determined which humans fell into which categories, conceited or afraid or even neither, and dealt with them from there. She liked dealing with the frightened ones the best; those, she could scare a little and they would leave her alone. The more conceited humans wouldn't be intimidated; they felt they had nothing to fear. Giovanni was the worst by far. He made her feel small, insignificant, unimportant. The main scientist, the one in charge of all the others, he was bad, too. Sometimes she wondered if he even though of her as alive. He sure didn't act like it. And then later they brought in another woman, and this one was almost as bad as Giovanni, the way she would look down her pointed nose at the Pokémon, sneering at her. Jianna. She remembered that woman's name, because they said that Jianna would be training her. It seemed important to remember at the time. 

The other, more frightened humans didn't leave much of an impression. They mostly scurried about like Rattatas, running from one place to the other in the lab and not looking at her. She wasn't exactly sure how she knew what a Rattata was, or why it scurried, but she did, and she left it at that.

And then there were a couple of humans who didn't really fit either category. They weren't scared, and they weren't conceited. The woman Cheryl was one of them. Every day, Cheryl would come in to talk to her. At first, the Pokémon could tell, the woman was afraid. But then the fear started to go away, just a little at a time, and after a week, the woman Cheryl was hardly afraid at all. In fact, she was actually rather nice, and the Pokémon found herself waiting for the woman to come and speak to her. Not that she would ever, ever admit that. The other human that didn't quite fit was a man with shocking red hair. Whenever they had her out of her little room for 'testing' she would see the same man leaning against a doorway, watching. He would stand there with his arms folded over his chest and watch her for a little while, and then he would turn and leave. She never spoke to him.

He was watching her now. She sat in the lab, warily watching the humans around her, and there he was again. She stared at him, then shifted her gaze to the human who had, quite without her permission, just stuck a needle into her arm. He was drawing her blood. They kept taking her blood from her, at least once a day. She figured it had probably been about eight days now, but she couldn't be sure. She never got to see the sun, all closed up, or the moon, or stars. Sun, moon, stars. She didn't know how she knew what they were, but she did, and she left it at that.

The man scurried off with the vial of her blood, and then they ushered her back into her enclosure. As she went, she heard the man say something to his buddy about the 'damned creepy two.' That's all they called her, two. It bothered her, not that she would ever, ever admit that. After all, names were a luxury that they didn't care to afford her.

The Pokémon sat with her back to the glass wall. She did not feel like looking at herself right now.

* * *

It seemed strange to Cheryl that she'd never considered the idea of the Pokémon having a personality. It just never occurred to her, or to anyone else. But she did. She had such a personality. It made Cheryl's job all the harder, because the creature knew exactly what she did and didn't like, and so far, she didn't like much of anything. It made her temperamental. Too often, Cheryl would find her co-workers waiting for her arrival in the morning, because the Pokémon simply _would not cooperate_ with certain people. She'd just sit there and stare at them angrily, refusing to move. It could be very frustrating. 

She imagined it was frustrating for the Pokémon, too...

* * *

It had been a while since she'd woken up. At least a week and a half, probably closer to two. She didn't know how she knew what a week was, but she did, and she left it at that. Anyway, she was just enjoying a nice, peaceful nap when they came in. Her body told her it was far too early; she'd been able to develop a sort of sleep cycle based on when they took her out for tests, and it was still sleep time. So she ignored the people trying to coerce her awake, instead rolling away from them in an attempt to go back to her rest. And was rewarded, much to her own surprise, with a hard kick to her side. None of the humans had ever dared to strike at her before. Angered, the Pokémon lashed back at the offending person with her tail, intending to knock them back, only to feel a sharp, burning sting across her back when she tried. The damn Rocket had a whip!

* * *

The Pokémon wasn't in her holding area when Cheryl got to work that morning. They told her that they had started its training, and that she wouldn't be needed for it. So she sat around, and waited. She didn't mind waiting. She had a good book to read, and she was still getting paid, even while she did nothing at all. It worked out well for her. 

She actually spent the whole morning and a good part of the day sitting in the break room, reading her book. When her mind finally was pulled back to her job, it was violently and unexpectedly. A door in the main complex opened, and immediately the room was filled with shouts, angry voices. By the time Cheryl got a bookmark into her book and got out to see what was happening, they were already forcing the Pokémon into her room. She wasn't sure, but in the brief glimpse she got, the Pokémon seemed redder than before. And then Jianna came in, wiping a whip clean. Cheryl stared at it in horror. They hadn't actually let her use that thing, had they? The assistant ran to the window and looked in, then away quickly. She didn't want to see, after all...

Jianna looked up from her cleaning casually. "Don't feed it," was all she said.

* * *

It hurt to the point that she almost couldn't stand the pain any more. The Pokémon huddled off in a corner. She would _never_ be used by a woman like that, she didn't care how badly they beat her! She shifted a little to get more comfortable, and then winced slightly as one of the bigger cuts seemed to protest. No way. No way, no how. 

The Pokémon tucked her body tighter into it's little ball as the door opened, glaring suspiciously at the entry, but it was only Cheryl who came in. The human woman was carrying a white metal box with a red cross on the side, and the name registered somewhere in her mind. First aid kit. Yet another mysterious term, first aid kit. Another something she had not yet encountered in her brief existence, but could identify anyway. First aid kits were for getting rid of hurts like the ones she had now. Cheryl sat the first aid kit down next to her and took a seat. "Hey there."

She didn't come out of her ball. "_Hullo_."

"I know you're probably not feeling too good, but I need to have a look at you."

"_What for? She's just going to do it again tomorrow_."

The human actually seemed pained by the words. "Why do you say that?"

"_Because she said she would. She said this is what happens when I don't do what she says_."

Cheryl bit her lip and started working on her arm, in one of the places where the whip actually broke through flesh and fur. "Maybe you should try listening, then. Just try a little bit, and things will get better."

"_What's the point? I don't want to live just to do what they tell me to. Sometimes I wonder why they even bothered to create me. I'm not important to any of them. I don't have a name, or an identity. I'm just a two_..." The human continued working on her wounds, and the Pokémon raised her head a little bit. "_Would you want to keep trying, if you didn't have an identity of your own? Would you want to keep trying, if they only ever called you two?_"

For a long moment, the human was still, studying the cut she was cleaning. Finally, she shook her head. "No," she said, "I don't think I would..."

The Pokémon rested her head again, glad that the human had at least been honest. None of the others around here valued honest at all...

* * *

The Pokémon didn't say another word as Cheryl cleaned her. Finally, the young woman stood up, wiping her brow with one arm. "There we go. All done." The battered creature said nothing. Deep down, Cheryl was glad. The garnet-eyed clone had expressed more depth and breadth of emotion in those few brief moments of conversation than she had over the entire past two weeks. Cheryl packed up the first aid kit and quietly left the enclosure with out getting so much as a goodbye or a thank you from the Pokémon. She hadn't expected one, anyway. 

Yota was waiting for her when she came out. "Come on," he said, falling into step with her as she put away the medical supplies. "I'll buy you dinner."

Cheryl blinked at the unexpected invitation. Then, shrugging, she gave in. "Sure, why not. It's been a hell of a day anyway."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Yota held open the door at a local burger joint. Cheryl was his best bet for making this happen. After all, she was closer to that thing than anyone else was. He waited to bring the subject up, however, until they'd already ordered. They sat across from each other in a small booth, Cheryl trying to enjoy a strawberry shake while Yota beat down the ice cubes in his coke with a straw. Finally, he spoke. "They beat her good, didn't they." 

He said it as a statement, not a question, but Cheryl nodded anyway. "It was pretty bad..."

He leaned back in his seat. "She talks to you, doesn't she? I look in sometimes, see you having conversations. You're probably the only person in the whole lab she likes."

"I wouldn't say like," the young woman was toying with her napkin, and Yota took a moment to look her over. Long black hair, big brown eyes. What made a pretty girl like her go into science as a career? The technician sat back as their food arrived. He flicked at an onion ring with his fingers, then took a bite of the large burger before speaking again.

"It's a shame, though," he started carefully, making sure to meet her eyes, "That Team Rocket thinks it can use a creature like that. I say something should be done about it."

* * *

Cheryl's mind was racing as she lay awake in bed that night. It's up to you, Yota had said. You can help save her. Even the smallest gesture could be significant... 

She went in later the next day, so she wouldn't have to sit and wait so long. When they ushered the Pokémon into her enclosure after training, she picked up the first aid kit and headed for the door. She hesitated a moment before stepping inside, and waited for the door to shut before she spoke. "Hey there, Eve."

The Pokémon, which was curled into a ball again, raised her head. "_Eve_?"

"Yeah... Eve... it's going to be your name now. A special name, just between us, okay?"

The Pokémon looked sullen. "_Two_."

"Pardon?"

"_You forgot the two. I'm a two, remember_?"

Cheryl hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Okay, then, Evetwo. We'll do it your way. Now why don't you uncurl a bit, and I'll clean those cuts up."

* * *

She has a name, finally. Evetwo is the most complex character I ever tried to write, which is why I originally gave up on the story- I just couldn't portray her accurately without going through a few ups and downs myself. But now, I have a nice, firm grasp of her character. You know you've got it right when they start talking to you... 


	3. Abilities

Wow, it seems like it's getting easier and easier to write. This chapter was born mostly from sitting down on two separate occasions and writing for three or four hours at a time. I sat down a few nights back and poured out 1757 words, stoping only to watch the latest episode of Heros. I then got stuck, barely managing 500 words, until last night when I sat down at nine o'clock at night and kept going, non-stop, until midnight. I poured out over 2,000 words in that one sitting and brought the chapter to a close.

I'm atually pretty thrilled right now, because I've gotten to pull in, slightly, one of the characters that I've really wanted to write. So far, she only appears as a disembodied voice, but she will become very important in the next chapter, which I also started on my four-hour writing run last night. I've also given you some insight into Evetwo's treatment and told you flat out, in case you hadn't already guessed, what Yota's plan was. Gee, I hope you already guessed... Anyway, I think this is a good chapter because I finally start tying up some loose ends. And I think I did better at not skipping around the PoVs as much. I hope. So here we go!

_

* * *

Fear has been used as a weapon since before time began. Before man walked on two legs, even before there was man at all, the cobra was spreading its hood wide to frighten-off would-be predators. Tooth and claw and talon weren't enough. You had to be imposing to survive. You had to control fear. And then man came along, and saw the value of fear. War paints made mortal men look like fierce beasts. Loud cries or battle songs intimidated the opposition. Tiny little things like that could make your opponent pause, giving you the edge in fights for food and land. Even now, in this modern age, terrorists and extremists still use fear as a weapon in modern warfare. Listen to us, they say, and you will survive. Live as we do, follow our rules, and we will not hurt you. If humans would use fear to rule one another, then does it not make sense that they would wield it to control those they thought bellow them as well? _

_

* * *

_

Evetwo seemed to make some progress after receiving her name. At least, she was no longer angry or willful towards Cheryl. She actually started to warm up to the human a bit. She no longer seemed so wary of the assistant, and at times actually seemed interested in what she had to say. Not that she'd sunk so low as to call Cheryl by her name, of course. She wasn't that comfortable with her yet. But the Pokémon now made eye contact when spoken to. It was a welcome change from the sullen, distant attitude the creature had with her in the beginning, anyway.

A week after the naming, as Cheryl came to think of it, she left work to find Yota once again waiting for her. He nodded to her and asked what she felt like eating, and they went out again. It startled her a bit when he offered her his arm as they walked down the street, but she understood the purpose behind it. After all, if anyone saw them, they'd just assume it was a young couple on a date. They walked to town chatting about this and that, not actually bringing up the Pokémon until they'd settled into a secluded booth at a pizza parlor and started eating. Yota spoke first. "She's still not training well, is she."

Cheryl picked at a gooey slice of cheese pizza. "She's not training at all. She still refuses to listen."

"You need to work on that." Yota took a sip of his cola. "She'll never survive on her own if she can't use her abilities."

"And how exactly should I go about doing that?" Honestly, the man made it sound so easy.

Apparently, to him it was. "Just issue the challenge. Make her wonder what she's capable of. Just don't be too direct. If you're too direct, we're all screwed."

That's all well and good for you, Cheryl thought as the man took a bite of his pizza. You're not stuck cleaning her up every day.

As it turned out, the next day was the worst yet. Evetwo had not only refused to train, but she had lashed out at one of Jianna's assistants. The tail blow had not broken the man's back as Cheryl had first thought such a strike would, but it had cracked several of his ribs. Cheryl sat up the first aid kit and started to examine the bloody gash over the Pokémon's nose. "You know, there are more effective ways you could have handled yourself in there."

"_Don't care. This felt better._" The Pokémon was sitting up for a change. She crossed her eyes to watch what the scientist was doing to her nose, her tail twitching irritably as Cheryl dabbed at the cut with hydrogen peroxide. "_That burns_."

"It burns because it's cleaning the wound." The young woman didn't look up from what she was doing. She had to go about this right. "Evetwo, don't you ever wonder why they're pushing you so hard?"

"_Because they're jerks_."

Cheryl shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe they see you as being more than you are now." And edgy silence was her only response. Great... "You know, I bet you could be really powerful if you tried."

"_What for_?"

"Well," Cheryl said, actually having to give it some thought. She'd had something planned to say, but it seemed to have suddenly left her. "I know I'm getting kind of curious as to what you can do, myself." She sponged some more peroxide onto the wound, and Evetwo winced a little. Inspiration. "Did you know that some Pokémon can actually heal their own wounds with psychic power?"

"_Really_?" The Pokémon uncrossed her eyes to look directly at Cheryl, slightly interested now. "_How_?"

"Well, I don't know for sure. It's a technique called Recover, and it probably takes a lot more power than you have now. You'd have to work hard and train seriously if you ever hoped to learn it." Evetwo started to look disinterested again, so Cheryl went out on a limb. "Think of how nice it would be if we didn't have to go through this every day. I hate the smell of peroxide." The woman nodded her head, satisfied. "Okay, now let's see the shoulder."

"_Do you have to_?"

Even if seeing what her own skills were didn't appeal to Evetwo, the idea of not relying on the human for care did, as Cheryl was pleased to report when she and Yota sat in a dimly-lit Chinese restaurant a few days later. The Pokémon had started responding to the training, intent on learning such a useful technique as Recover. "To be honest," Cheryl admitted, "I feel a little sad to think she's that eager to get rid of me."

Yota chucked over his wonton. "Didn't I tell you once before not to get too attached?"

"I can't help it! You try going in there every day!" Cheryl took a bite of her sweet and sour pork. Something had been bothering her for a while now, and she couldn't help it any more. She had to ask. "Yota... why do they do that to her? If she's really so powerful, won't it make her want to use her power to hurt them?"

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" The redhead set his chopsticks down. "Cheryl, have you ever been to the circus?"

"Pardon?"

"The circus. Have you ever been to one?"

Cheryl wasn't sure where he was going with this, so she just answered the question asked. "Once when I was a little girl, why?"

"Do you remember the Donphan?" She nodded, twirling some chow mien around her chopsticks, and Yota continued. "Donphan aren't the largest Pokémon, but they are very, very heavy. If one of them bolts, it can easily bring down a human being in the process. They can crush a full-grown man if they knock one down, and believe me, they can knock one down. So do you know what they do to train them not to run?" Cheryl shook her head. "They take the young Phanpy, the little babies, and they tie their legs together with a nice length of green cord. Nothing too tight, they still want the little Phanpys to be able to walk. But if they start to run, this cord trips them up, and they fall and get hurt. Now, a Donphan, or even a good-sized Phanpy, can easily break through a length of cord, but these little baby Phanpys can't. They learn that very well after a few solid tumbles, and they don't try to run anymore if that green cord is around their legs. So you know what happens after?"

Cheryl shook her head, wondering where he was going with all of this. Yota took another drink before going on. "The Phanpy get big. They get big, and they evolve into Donphan, and they're ready for work, entertaining the masses. Now, you'd think by this time you'd have to use chain if you wanted to tie their legs off and keep them from bolting. Won't work. They break right through it. But by golly, if you put that little green cord around their legs, they won't even try to run. They've been conditioned to believe that they have no power over this little cord, that instead, this little cord has power over them. And since the human trainers are the ones who put the cord on and take it off, they must be the ones in charge, right?" Cheryl nodded. "Well, that's how Jianna operates. Only she doesn't use a little green cord. She uses a whip. Teach a Pokémon to obey the whip early on, teach it that you can hurt it, and it will obey you out of fear." Yota smiled grimly. "Or so she sees it. Jianna thinks it's more important to break a Pokémon than to work with it as an equal. That's where you come in, Cheryl. You're the anti-Jianna. It's your job to make sure that Evetwo does not break."

* * *

Yota went home that night satisfied. Cheryl was a bright young woman, and what's more, she was genuinely growing fond of her charge. That would make it easier for the girl to do what was right by the Pokémon, and let it go. The redhead unlocked the door and let himself into his house, only to be accosted the moment he crossed the threshold by golden curls and big blue eyes in a pretty pink nightgown. "Daddy!" 

The technician scooped up his little girl, rubbing his nose against hers in an Eskimo kiss. "Now, Angie, I thought I told you to be asleep before I got home," he admonished lightly. The child whined.

"But Daddy, it's barely been dark yet!"

"And you have school tomorrow. I won't have my little angel falling asleep in class! She's gotta grow up smart and get a good job so she can take care of her daddy in his old age!"

The little girl laughed and rested against him as Yota carried her down the hall to her room. He tucked her in bed, and she kissed him goodnight on the cheek before snuggling down into her pillow. "Daddy?"

"Yeah, angel?"

"I love you, Daddy."

Yota felt a lump in his throat. "I love you, too, angel," he said as he turned out the light and stepped into the hallway. He pulled the child's door closed behind him and rested his head against it. "I love you, too..."

* * *

Evetwo rested in her little enclosure with her eyes closed. If any of the night scientists thought to look in at her, they'd assume she was asleep. She wasn't. Curled up into a little ball, with her tail wrapped around her body protectively, the Pokémon listened. If she strained, she could just hear the people on the other side of the mirrored wall... 

"_Hey_!"

Evetwo opened one eye. That did not come from the other side of the mirror. She went to look around her and heard it again.

"_No, don't do that, I'm not where you are. Put your head back down!_"

The clone obliged quickly, closing her eyes again and feigning sleep once more. "_Who's there?_"

"_Well, good to see you can finally hear me. Do you have any idea how long I've been trying to get through to you? And you just don't listen_. _And for goodness sakes, stop broadcasting like that! Just talk to me alone, like you do to that Cheryl woman._"

Evetwo tensed. Had she just been talking to Cheryl alone? She hadn't realized it. "_Who are you_," she repeated. She thought she heard a sigh from the other end.

"_I'm a friend_." It sounded like a young girl.

"_I don't have any friends_."

"_Sure you do_." The tone was annoyingly cheerful all of a sudden. Evetwo wanted to smack the speaker. "_You're just too stubborn to realize it yet_."

"_Don't talk like you know me_."

"_But I do. I know all about you_."

"_Who are you? Tell me, right now!_"

"_Wow, so demanding. Similar that way, I guess. I'm a psychic Pokémon, like you. I've been trying to talk to you, but you've been remarkably closed-minded_."

Evetwo's tail tapped against the floor irritably. She wanted to sleep. "_Are you in the lab, too?_"

"_I don't do laboratories. Sorry, you're in there on your own. I can keep you company like this for now, though_."

"_Don't bother_." The cloned Pokémon shifted her tail over her nose to keep it warm. "_I'd rather just keep to myself, thanks_." The voice didn't say any more, and Evetwo went to sleep thinking that was that.

* * *

The next time Yota took Cheryl out for dinner, she got a bit of a surprise. First of all, they didn't go to a restaurant. They went to his house. And second, they didn't go alone. 

Now Cheryl sat on the couch, looking at the couple in the chairs across from her. Reiko and Kazu looked just as uncomfortable as she felt. Since when were they in on it? She fidgeted slightly, looking up with a sort of relief when Yota came in carrying drinks. He handed one off to each of them before settling onto the couch next to her. "So, the gang's all here," he said flippantly. "Reiko, Kazu, this is Cheryl. She's on our side, so just relax, okay?"

Kazu, for one, seemed to calm down. "So we're all here. I take it we're doing this soon."

Yota settled in more comfortably. "Well, no, I don't think it's time yet, but can it hurt to get to know each other?" There was an awkward silence, and for a moment, Yota looked rather disappointed. Then he grinned. "Well, there we have it, folks. Model members of Team Rocket; can't even trust our own co-workers. Guess I'll start, then. I'm Yota Tezuka. I'm twenty-nine years old, and my blood type is O positive. I grew up in Kanto's Saffron City. My favorite color is green and my favorite food is lasagna. I'm a genetic engineer, hired by Team Rocket at the start of the project to serve as a medical consultant and oversee the night staff. I'm currently on-board as a consultant. Next."

Across from Cheryl, Reiko shifted in her chair. She looked orderly and professional. "Reiko Himegawa, age twenty-six. Blood type B negative. I was born and raised here in the Johto region. I-"

"What city," Yota cut in.

"No city. My family moved too much for me to set down roots. Anyway, I like the color blue and chilidogs with hot sauce. I'm a computer technician, transferred in five months into the project to get the bugs out of the systems they were using, and I've been on maintenance ever since. Kazu."

Kazu leaned forward in his chair. "The name's Kazu Zacharia, age twenty-seven and AB negative. The vampires love me. Born in a remote little hellhole in the Hoen region, and that's all I'm saying about that. I left that place for a reason. I like the color purple, always have, always will. Purple is for royalty. I also like double-decker tacos, the kind with the soft shell outside of the crunchy shell. I'm a genetic engineer, assigned to the project under Yota way the hell back in the beginning."

"And your favorite word is hell," Reiko said flippantly.

"And my favorite word is hell. Or shit. Or damn. Or anything else that gets the point across. Next."

And then all eyes were on her. "Um... I'm Cheryl Cole, age twenty-two..."

"Hell, you're just a kid!"

Cheryl winced. "My blood type is B positive, my favorite color is red, and I like strawberry mochi. I was born and raised here in Olivine City-"

Reiko stared at her. "You're a local?"

"Yeah..." The young assistant nodded sheepishly. "I got an add in the mail about five months ago for a laboratory assistant and applied, and that's how I ended up on the project, seventeen months in. Now I'm a caretaker."

There was a low whistle from Kazu before Yota cut in. "And that brings us to round two- how the four of us got involved in Team Rocket in the first place. Me, my wife died three years ago. Without her half of the income, I was really hurting to make the rent when a couple of men from Team Rocket approached me." The redhead's tone was somber. "They offered me enough payoff at the end to pay off this house, if I took a job as a geneticist in their lab. I accepted." He nodded curtly to Reiko. "Still going around the circle, now, you're turn."

"They got me as a kid," the woman said softly. "I was a hacker, just as a hobby. They got word somehow, and recruited me when I was seventeen. I figure the money is good, and I haven't had to actually hurt anyone yet..." She shrugged, as though it didn't matter, but her eyes told Cheryl that it did.

Yota nodded. "You're the only one here who was with Team Rocket before the project, then..." The woman ignored him, turning her attention to Kazu instead. He shrugged as well.

"They promised me an exciting career, the kind of thing that wins you the Nobel Prize. I was a greedy guy, I couldn't say no."

"Still can't say no real well," Reiko muttered. Yota cut an eyebrow at her.

"And neither can you, missy, so hush and let Cheryl have her turn."

Couldn't they just forget her? "Well, like I said, I answered an add for a assistant that I found in my mailbox. I thought it was kind of weird because no one else I knew had got one. I didn't know it was related to Team Rocket until later, but when I found out, I took the job anyway because my Grandma is really sick, and needs special medicine."

"So they got two with promises of enough money to look out for our loved ones, one of us was nabbed as a kid, and one of us was bought over with promises of fortune and glory. Nice."

"Which one am I?" Kazu chucked. "So, is that the last of the personal exposition?"

"Not quite yet." Yota stood up. "There's one more thing left to say, and that's why we're right here, right now." But instead of answering, he walked out into the hallway. They heard the front door open. The small group could hear the neighborhood children that were playing outside "Angie!"

There was a moment's silence as the group indoors sat, waiting. Finally, Yota came back in leading the sweetest little girl Cheryl had ever seen. She had long blonde hair and rosy cheeks, and her big blue eyes looked around the room at them as she hugged an old, worn Clefairy doll to her. Yota rested a hand on her shoulder. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Angie. Angie, sweetheart, these are some friends of mine from work. Say hello."

"H'lo!" Angie bobbed out a little curtsy, holding one side of her simple blue dress. Cheryl murmured a greeting back, even as Reiko and Kazu did the same thing, and Yota ushered the small girl back outside with an encouragement to go play with her friends until dinner was ready. He came back in looking sober. "And that's it. That's my reason for being here." The man flopped back into the couch. "Every time I see that... thing we created, I also remember the little girl whose life they took to make it, and I think of my daughter. That's why I'm here." Cheryl noted that he'd lapsed into calling Evetwo 'it' instead of 'she,' but said nothing. "I was on the project from the start, but even at that, it was too late to save that little girl. So I told myself that I'd stick around, make sure whatever we were making survived. And then I'd see it free."

The silence was palpable, almost painful, before Reiko seemed to decide that it was her turn. "I just want out," the woman said sadly. "They've taken almost ten years of my life; I don't want them to have another minute. I figure I might as well give them some grief when I go."

"I want out, too," Kazu said abruptly. "Fortune and glory aren't worth selling my soul for. Getting that Pokémon out is the least I can do to make up for it."

There was a lengthy silence, and Cheryl realized they were all waiting on her. She shifted a little bit. "I guess... I just want it to all be over, too. I look at her, and it's just not right. She's hurting..."

There was a moment of stillness in the room, not just silence; no one even moved. Then Yota spoke up again. "Okay, then. So here's the plan..."

* * *

Her head hurt a lot lately. She didn't know if it was from the training or the weird dreams she'd been having or from the nightly conversations she'd been having with the mysterious psychic outside the lab. Every night, it seemed harder and harder to communicate, as though something was squelching her abilities. One night she asked her 'friend' if she maybe had any ideas on how to make it better, but the other Pokémon only told her to be patient, and that things would get better soon. Evetwo simply responded that if things were going to get better, the least her so-called friend could do was come tell her to her face. She tended to get rather sick of the never-ending patience she received from her conversational companion. 

She should have been getting stronger. Each day, she gained a little more control over her unstable powers. By all rights, she should have reached new levels in strength by now. She hadn't. Somehow, she'd gotten stuck along the way. It was frustrating, and Evetwo spent much of her free time trying to understand it. Cheryl offered little help, and there were times the Pokémon found herself getting just as tired of the human as she was of the psychic that unknowingly taunted her with the freedom they enjoyed. For one thing, the human seemed to brood more. Evetwo didn't know what was bothering her, but she wished the woman wouldn't bring it to work.

So instead, she focused her energy on learning. Whatever they tried to teach her, she learned, even if it seemed too hard on her limited energy. And then one day, she finally got to look up as Cheryl walked in with the first aid kit, and laugh silently at the woman's expression as her wounds healed all on their own. "_Told you I could do it_."

The woman had nodded, smiling, but there had been tears in her eyes, tears that had seemed quite silly to Evetwo. But then, Cheryl was a strange human, she already knew that. Let the strange woman have her tears.

Training the next day sucked. Evetwo settled into her corner afterwards with a definitive scowl marring her face. She figured she had that right, at least, because Jianna had grown angry with her for some imaginary slight or another, and now the Pokémon's whole body hurt terribly. Suppressing a whimper as she sat down, Evetwo forced her wounds to heal, finding, to her dismay, that she couldn't quite heal all the way this time. Still, it was enough that she could move comfortably, and she settled in to wait for Cheryl's inevitable arrival. It didn't take long before the mechanized door slid open.

"Hey, Eve." The Pokémon stared up at the woman blankly. Eve? _Just_ Eve? Cheryl sat down next to her, with her back to the mirrored wall of the enclosure, the same way she always sat. Her eyes were very sad. "There's something very important we need to talk about, okay?" The human's hands were reaching into the first aid kit, pulling out the old bottles and sprays. Evetwo watched her carefully. Something was off. And then she noticed the tiny radio in the basket. She met Cheryl's eyes questioningly. The human smiled sadly at her. "We're going to get you out of here, okay, Eve? I need you to listen to me very, very carefully. I have a friend listening on the other end of this walkie-talkie. I'm going to take care of you, same as I always do. When I get up to leave, the door will open, and another friend of mine will activate a virus in one of the computers. It's going to shut down the power in the complex. When that happens, the electromagnetic current holding those rings in place will be cut, and they'll fall right off. That'll let you tap you're full power. You'll have thirty seconds to get out the door before the back-up generators kick in and you're trapped in here. Think you can do that?"

Evetwo nodded slowly, and the human continued. "The best way to get out is through the main door. Go down the hall and straight up through the stairwell. Shoot straight through the roof if you have to, just get out. You'll probably have about two minutes of chaos before people start figuring out what's going on. Okay?" Evetwo nodded again. "There's still a lot you need to know, Eve... so much you still have a right to hear... I'll find you someday, and tell you. That's a promise." The human stood up. "All right, then. Are you ready?"

She nodded one last time. Half of her felt numb, but the other half of her was more than eager enough to taste freedom to make up for it. Cheryl smiled at her, then reached over and touched the door, the signal that she was ready to go. The door slid open...

The laboratory went black, but not before Evetwo could register the whispered words, "Goodbye, Eve."

* * *

Well, there you have it. What has to be the first major cliffhanger I've ever done. Man, I even hate myself right now for that! Guess I'd better get back to working on the next chapter, then, huh? See you later, and remember: Aeris feeds off of good reviews. Bai! 


	4. Strange Relations

Okay, here we go! Aeris has an update! Please be sure to read the notes after this chapter, as they are important!

* * *

Yota stood behind Reiko's workstation, listening to Cheryl speaking on the tiny ear bud he was wearing. He'd taken to wearing an MP3 player to work over the past few weeks, storing it in his jacket pocket. No one suspected that he'd switched it for a walkie-talkie with headphones attached. His face was passive as the woman in the enclosure spoke to the Pokémon. And then Cheryl stood up. This was it. Win or loose, they'd redeem themselves here. He clapped his hand down on Reiko's shoulder. "Now."

* * *

Evetwo felt the rings dropping off when the lights went out. She froze for a moment, overwhelmed. The sheer energy that erupted in her amazed her. Is this what Cheryl meant by full power? She didn't stop to think about it. There were shouts as she darted out of the enclosure. The light was low, a few battery-operated devices and one bright LED from a surge protector. It was enough for Eve; oblong pupils widened to large rounds as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. She could see; the humans could not. A definite advantage. The psychic paused a moment, uncertain. The blinded humans were fumbling about for any source of light they could find. It was rather pathetic the way they crashed into one another in the darkness...

"_Keep moving!_" Evetwo started at the voice of her 'friend' before moving again. Thirty seconds, right? She rammed her way across the room, somewhat satisfied at the dull thunk as she knocked one of the idiot scientists out of the way. From the sound of the 'hey!' that followed, she was able to identify him as one of the men who so frequently stuck her with needles. The Pokémon remembered all the times this man had sneered at her and wondered if this wasn't a nice opportunity for vengeance. Eve stepped on the man, probably harder than she should have, and heard a sharp crack beneath her. The man howled, and Eve realized she must have broken right through an arm or a leg. Oh, well. He deserved it. There was a bright light from her left; someone had found a flashlight and turned it on to investigate the pained cry. She could see the man coming after her, only to be intercepted by another man who seemed to have either tripped into him or rammed him with a shoulder deliberately, she couldn't be sure. Evetwo decided that either way, she needed to take advantage of the distraction. She made for the double doors leading out of the room, only to stumble into a pitch-black hallway. Visibility, even for her keen eyes, was at nearly zero. The only light was coming from the room behind her, and it was minimal at best. Then the voice called to her again. "_To your right! Right, and straight through the doors! Bust out!_" Right, right, which way was right? EveTwo took a chance and shot off to one side, and apparently it was right, because she collided headlong with the doors just as the back-up generators came on and the lab behind her was illuminated. She could hear shouting from behind her and a grunt from the other side of the door as a human headed for the lab was knocked aside. Evetwo stared up the stairwell. The stares looped around, up and up and up, leaving a gap where she could see straight to the top. "_Fly!_"

Training, she'd only been able to rise a few inches above the ground, but now she found that she could practically soar with just a little thought. Up, up, up, and right through the roof. Eve shook her head and made a mental note to use some sort of barrier next time. That had hurt! She stood in mid-air, trying to get her bearings, only to hear a crack below her. Something went zinging past her. Evetwo blinked. They wouldn't! With the next shot, she actually saw the small dart as it whizzed past her head. Someone was shooting at her from inside the stairwell. Eve darted to one side, out of sight of the gaping hole, and looked around her. Which way, which way...

"_Over here! Towards the trees, hurry!_" Well, the coaxing had steered her out of the lab, hadn't it? Evetwo swooped down low, taking cover in the tree line. "_Keep coming this way. When you see the lightening-struck stump, hang a left_." Left sounded easy enough; just go the opposite way from where she went in the building. She darted in and out of the trees until she came to what had to be the stump- a gnarled, charred monument of wood rising from the ground- and turned to her left. _"Now just go until you feel like stopping, and I'll meet you there!_" Garnet eyes blinked at the strange instruction. Until she felt like stopping? What was that supposed to mean? She couldn't stop until she found a good place to hide, far, far away. "_Well, you won't find anything after the sun goes down, so you really ought to stop and rest_."

"_Who the hell are you, anyway?_"

"_Wow, hello to you, too. And after I helped you out of there, even_."

Eve slowed slightly. The terrain was uneven. Hills, she decided. These were hills, and hills lead to mountains. Mountains could be difficult for humans to climb, especially at night, which was fast coming. So if she went into the mountains before nightfall, the humans wouldn't be able to follow her until morning, by which time she'd be gone. Right?

"_Yeah, that sounds good. Fly a little more to your right_."

Evetwo kept going straight. "_I know I did not say that out loud_."

"_You're not going right_," her mental companion sang out. The Pokémon scowled and altered her course. "_Atta girl. You listen so much better than some of my other cases._"

"_Where are you?_"

"_Not much further, just keep going. You'll be in a safe spot soon enough. Humans can't come this far into the mountains without getting lost, just like you thought_."

The psychic clone stubbornly remained silent, heading deeper into the mountains as the sun slipped away over the horizon. Finally, she slowed to a stop within a great ring of trees. This seemed as good a place as any. Evetwo needed her sleep.

There was a rustle in the bushes, and Evetwo heard a very soft, very real meowing behind her. "Yeah, I figured this was where you'd stop." The clone spun around, and found herself face-to-face with the biggest blue eyes she'd ever seen...

* * *

Four people disappeared into the shadows after the breakout. They scattered in different directions, each with the same goal in mind. Twisting and turning through the portside city, they all eventually reached the same building, a tiny bar on the edge of town where the sailors and locals mingled, and no one asked questions. One by one, they dropped into a corner booth. It was a long time before one of them spoke. 

"Carson's right arm was snapped virtually in half. She stepped on him on the way out."

"He deserved it."

There was another long silence, and then, "My head still doesn't feel the same from getting slammed with that door."

"My shoulder's out from ramming Diego."

"Think they're on to us yet?"

"No telling."

Nobody in the sedate group seemed to want to talk for very long. Finally, they went their separate ways. Since the virus that shut down the power systems could be traced directly to Reiko's computer terminal, the young woman would have to leave town. She didn't mind. Kazu had offered to accompany her, and they planned to go somewhere far, far away, where Team Rocket couldn't find them. Maybe back to Hoenn, where Kazu grew up. Team Rocket wasn't well established there.

Cheryl didn't need to worry about her grandmother any more, either; the elderly woman had grown stronger, and had moved back in with Cheryl's mother. Cheryl had a small but sufficient amount of money in the bank. She thought she might start over in Kanto.

Yota, who could have left things as they were and stayed in his home, was packing up to move back to Saffron City. Going back to medical school sounded good right now. Maybe become a neurosurgeon...

Walking out of the bar in pairs, none of them looked back. Their sins atoned for, they all hoped that maybe now they could be free.

* * *

It was a tiny, tiny Pokémon. The only reason it made eye contact with her at all was because it was hovering several feet in the air. At first, she couldn't understand how. It was, by all rights, a cat. A little bitsy kitten with pale pink fur. But there it sat never the less, floating in midair, defying all logic and gravity. 

Evetwo took a step back. Somewhere, something inside of her knew this creature. Something deep in her heart feared it, was awed by it. Somehow, she knew it was important...

The cat moved closer, circling her, examining her. It's tiny head moved up and down, and it paused for a minute to bat at her long, tangled hair. "I've got to say," it finally mewled, "You're not what I expected. Smaller, for one. And this hair! I didn't see that coming."

The larger Pokémon turned towards the kitten warily; she didn't want it behind her back, not in the least. "_Who are you?_"

"You really don't know me, then?" The pink Pokémon lowered slightly in the air, the movement reminding Evetwo of a sigh. "Not even a little, by instinct?" Eve shook her head. "I don't even feel a little familiar to you?" Another slow, serious shake. It- she- the cat looked disappointed. "Well, that's not fair. We're pretty much related and all, and you don't even know me."

"_Related?_" Evetwo felt a dawning apprehension. There was only one Pokémon that she could even conceive being related too... the one they said she was created from...

"Got it in one." The Pokémon did a little twirl in midair. "Mew's the name. It's good to finally meet you face to face, Evetwo."

* * *

Somewhere in the midst of the Johto region, a young trainer woke in the middle of the night to find an Eevee nudging at her. The Pokémon was holding a beeping device in its mouth. The Pokémon gear, or Pokegear for short, was invaluable to a young girl on the road. It operated as a map, a radio, and, most importantly, a phone. Right now, the device was making a soft, steady chirping sound- the phone was ringing. The girl fumbled to accept it from the Pokémon and squinted to see the number on the lit screen. Her face wrinkled into a scowl. "Fuck off, daddy dearest." And the girl rolled over and let the phone ring, her Eevee snuggling against her side sympathetically.

* * *

Mew wasn't there when Evetwo woke up the next morning.

The Pokémon clone woke up with a start in the middle of the woods. It took her a few minutes to reorient herself after the chaotic events of the previous night, but once she had, the absence of her pink 'friend' was the first thing she noticed. Sitting up, she stared, wide-eyed, at the surrounding trees and rocks and general forest scenery. Nope. Nothing pale pink and fluttery here. "_Mew?_"

There was a rustling in the bushes behind her. Evetwo spun, expecting an attacker, but found only the missing Mew. Mew looked up at her, perched on top of a large can of sorts. "Good morning!"

"_What's that?_" Eve stared at the can. That had not been there before, she was positive...

"Breakfast!" The kitten- Eve couldn't think of her any other way, she was so small- sounded cheerful as she popped the lid off of the jug. Thick, fresh milk lay inside.

"_Where did you get that?_"

"From a farm down the mountain. Don't worry, they had plenty." Mew eagerly stuck her nose into the milk jug. Evetwo stared for a moment, before walking over and settling into a sitting position to watch the little cat.

"_Do I get a turn, or are you going to drink all of that in front of me?_"

Mew looked up with a rather startled expression that could only be described as Stantler-in-the-headlights, and it occurred to Evetwo, rather dismally, that it had never occurred to the smaller psychic that she would need to share. The feline studied the clone, and the latter could almost hear the former weighing food over 'family' before Mew shrugged. "Heck with it. I'll go get you one."

"_I should think that one there would be more than enough for the both of us_."

"Mine!"

* * *

The Pokegear was ringing again. The Pokegear had been ringing all morning! Fifty times the girl must have checked the caller I.D. only to put the device back in her pocket in disgust. Now, for about the fifty-first time, she checked the I.D. And finally, finally answered the call. "I'm going to assume from the endless calls I've had to ignore today that it went well." 

Yota laughed on the other end. The Eevee could hear him clearly, perched on her trainer's shoulder as she was. "Yeah, pretty well. They never saw it coming."

"And your team?"

"I have to catch up to Cheryl still. Reiko and Kazu, I'm letting go. They've done what they can. So right now, it's all you."

"There's not a psychic in this world that Espeon can't track once she has their signature."

"That's what we're counting on."

* * *

"_So, where exactly are we going?_" Mew had been in a rush to get moving that morning, scarcely giving Evetwo a chance to finish eating. The clone was still trying to figure out how that tiny, tiny frame held all that milk. 

"Well..." Mew wove in and out of the trees, and Eve had to work quickly to keep her in sight. Her seeming inability to move in a straight line made her hard to follow. "I have some business to take care of. I have an over-due stop to make to see someone."

"_Who?_"

"Oooh, just an old acquaintance, someone I'm supposed to check on regularly but don't. Now that _you're_ up and about, thought, I really, really need to get to it."

"_What have I got to do with it?_"

"Well," Mew stopped so abruptly that Evetwo almost crashed into her. The cat looked around before changing course slightly. "This old acquaintance of mine is pretty smart, see? I think maybe he can help you."

"_Oh..._" Evetwo paused, only for a moment, to examine some berries on a vine. They'd been on the move for hours now, and she was starting to get a little hungry. When she looked up, Mew was gone. "_Hey!_"

The feline popped up, quite suddenly, right in front of Evetwo's nose. "Yeah?"

Eve squeaked audibly and backed up so fast she almost tripped over her own two feet. "_Don't do that!_"

Mew blinked. "Hey, you vocalized."

"_Say what?"_

"You squeaked. Like, with vocal cords. Like normal Pokémon do. I didn't expect that."

"_Uh-huh._" Eve decided to ignore Mew for the time being and went back to examining the berries. Mission one: determine if they were edible.

"They are, but too many and you'll get sick. Try those ones over there." The intrusion annoyed Evetwo, and she lashed her tail a bit to drive the kitten back. Nevertheless, she went to examine the other berries as suggested. The constant intrusions into her mind bothered her, but there wasn't a thing she could do about it while she was hungry. Poking at the small red berries testily, she found one that seemed about ready to drop off of its vine and pulled it free. It was pretty good, actually. The Pokémon smiled, just a little bit. It was certainly much better than the junk they had fed her at the lab, even if she didn't feel full for quite so long.

"_So, Mew, tell me about this friend of yours._"

Mew glanced up from her own berry gathering. "You mean my old acquaintance? What's to tell? He's not really a friend, just... someone I know."

"_Pokémon or human?_"

"Pokémon."

"_What's he like?_"

"Well, you'll just have to find out when you meet him, won't you?" Mew tugged at a vine, revealing a variety of berry Evetwo had yet to see. "Come here, I want to teach you about these."

And she wouldn't say another word about her 'acquaintance.'

* * *

"I don't care what you have to do, just find it and bring it back! If this specimen is lost, I am holding you personally responsible!" 

Sitting in a dimly lit corridor, the two teenage boys could do nothing but listen to the angry voices coming from the plush office. Neither of them wanted to have to go in there, not with the boss in one of his moods. But the files had to be delivered straight to the boss, and somehow, they'd drawn the short straw again. They always drew the short straw when the boss was in a bad mood.

"Hey, Bu, think they're done yet?"

Buwaro Ferai glanced over at his partner. "No, Ray, I do believe they're still yelling. You might want to get your ears cleaned, everyone can hear it but you."

Ray Makai shrugged nonchalantly. "They can't go on much longer, can they? I've heard Ji say she's sorry about fifty times now. What do you think happened?"

"I have no-" Buwaro trailed off. The door to the office swung open, and out walked a very tense Jianna. Neither youth had ever seen the woman look quite so shaken. Then again, neither youth had ever heard of the boss getting so mad at his favorite tamer, either. There was a lengthy silence before either of the Team Rocket grunts thought of anything to say.

"So, think we should go in now?"

Sometimes, the idiocy of his partner amazed Buwaro, it really did. He would have said so, too, had they not heard a deep, commanding, "Next!" coming from the office. Buwaro stood, making sure he was presentable before entering the room, Ray tagging behind.

"Sir, we've brought the latest results on the droid project..."

Giovanni stared at him a moment before nodding his head. "Ah, yes. That. I trust you have good news for me?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. The heads of the operation say they've hit a brick wall, so to speak. They request more funding..."

"I can read the files for myself, thank you." Giovanni's voice sent chills down the young Rocket's spine. He stepped forward hurriedly and deposited a thick manila envelope on the desk before turning to retreat, only to be halted by his boss. "How long have you boys worked for me?"

"A year and a half, sir."

"And you have nothing to show for it?"

Buwaro winced, and Ray stepped forward. "With all do respect, sir, we were placed on the droid project practically from the day we started. We have nothing to show because the project is going nowhere. It's out of our hands, sir."

Giovanni was eyeing them both critically. "Yes," he said, "I suppose being placed on a slow project would slow your individual progress. Tell me, how would you boys like a job with more lucrative possibilities?"

* * *

Big shout out to Ray and Buwaro, two very good friends of mine with whom I discuss ideas, A LOT! They've made their appearance as bumbling idiot Rockets! I recommend you ALL go read Buwaro's Tales of Flame as soon as possible, it is really, really cool, and you'll thank me for it later. Don't be daunted by the high chapter number, you can easily fit three or four of his chapters into one of mine. Believe me, you're gonna thank me for this later. Especially if you lot catch on to things rather quickly. Heh. 


	5. Neither Here Nor There

Geez, I'm tired. No, really. I've barely slept for the past three days. Let's see, today we meet more actual Pokémon in the story now. I needed that. Somehow, nearly the whole chapter came out from their point of view, with the exception of a breif look into Sea's mind. Fascinating character, her. Almost as cool as the real thing. Ha ha!

_

* * *

_

_Legends are funny things. When we're children, our parents tell us all manner of stories. They can be funny, scary, or sweet, and they always, always teach us something. Fairy tales and folklore are a way for people to remember where they've come from, a way to stay connected with their culture and beliefs. And yet, as our children grow older, as they begin to truly need these stories and the sense of kinship and comfort they provide, we tell them the old tales less and less, until finally we speak of them no more. And then the children are forced to grow up as dull, boring individuals, and forget about the princesses and heroes they dreamed of being, until the time comes for them to pass the stories on to their own children. By then, of course, these children of yesterday have forgotten the wonder and the meaning of the stories, the old legends, but the children of now remember. The children of now always, always remember._

_

* * *

_

"_Damn it, Mew, where'd you go?"_ Evetwo looked around her, annoyed. The kitten had disappeared while the clone was asleep again. At first Eve had figured that the psychic was after breakfast, and set about finding the nearest berry bushes to get something to eat herself. But Mew didn't show up, even after she was done eating. So she sat and waited a while, growing more and more annoyed, before she finally got up and set off in the direction they seemed to have been going the day before, telling herself that Mew was more than capable of catching up on her own.

And then the prickling had started.

At first, Evetwo didn't know what the tingling, buzzing sensation was. Then she started picking up snatches of thought. _This way... headed south... so powerful... still so young..._

"_Hello?"_

The prickling stopped abruptly. She swished her tail, waiting for a reply, but none came. Whatever was out there had cut off whatever connection they had shared.

Scowling, Evetwo turned to keep going, and came face to face with Mew. "Hi there!"

This time, the clone did trip backing up...

* * *

Espeon butted her head against her trainer's leg. She knew the direction, at least. The girl picked her up, grinning at the two adults. "Okay, I know where it is and where it's headed." 

Cheryl nodded. "Thanks, Sea. Thanks a lot."

The brown-haired girl with the Eevee on her shoulder shrugged. "Anything to wreck my father's plans. If that Pokémon is important to Team Rocket, then it's important to me that they don't get it." The girl ran a hand down the Espeon's back. Espeon nuzzled against her trainer, shaking a bit.

Eevee stared down at her evolved cousin. "Are you okay?"

"I will be." Espeon shook her head, trying to clear it. "I don't know what could have possessed anyone to make something like that! Its dormant powers are incredible! If it were to be properly trained in its psychic abilities, I don't think there'd be a Pokémon in this world who could stand up to it!"

"I could take it," boasted the Umbreon at their trainer's feet, puffing his chest out proudly. "There's not a psychic in the world I can't take down!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about this one... it was scary, it really was!" Espeon shook her head again. "Scary and confusing!"

"Confusing how?" Eevee's ears twitched, tickling her human's face. Sea was busy talking with the Cheryl woman and Yota, whom Eevee had grown to know well over recent months, so she just reached up absently to scratch the brown ball of fluff on the head. Espeon wriggled free of the human's arms to walk next to her mate on the ground.

"Its mind was a mess," The psy said at last. "Words and phrases it couldn't possibly have heard. Sights and sounds it should know nothing about. Memories it shouldn't possess. It's all one big jumble in there, one that the poor creature itself can hardly make heads or tales of. I feel bad for it when it does. What they said about it is true."

Eevee groaned. "Then they really did it? Team Rocket has finally turned on it's own kind?"

Espeon nodded silently. She was disturbed, Eevee could tell. So could Umbreon, and he leaned over to nuzzle his mate with his nose. This seemed to calm the psychic a bit. "Does it know yet? About the other?"

"No, I don't think it does. I didn't get very far into its mind before it noticed me, though. It might..." Espeon paused to groom one of her paws. "I did catch one thing of interest, though."

"And what would that be?" Eevee shifted her weight. Leaning forward to see her partners, she almost fell off of the human girl's shoulders.

"Somehow," Espeon trotted to catch up with them after her brief pause from walking, "its already found Mew."

* * *

"Evetwo, will you slow down for just one minute? I didn't mean to laugh. Hey! You're going the wrong way!" 

Evetwo slowed down just a little bit. It wasn't bad enough that she was unused to walking on uneven terrain, and thus had tripped on a root, but Mew had just had to laugh at her, hadn't she? The larger psy could feel her face burning under her fur. "_Which way_," she demanded. Mew waited until she'd caught up before answering.

"Too alike, I swear," The Pokémon was mumbling under her breath. "Come on. We need to head this way more."

"_Alike? Who's alike? What are you babbling about now?_" Evetwo went back to following the smaller Pokémon instead of leading without knowing where she was going.

"Oh, just another case of mine, gets mad so easily, you know?" Mew looked around her. Eve had the distinct impression that the kitten was only telling her half the truth. "I don't get it. Why does Jirachi get all the easy jobs, anyway? I swear Celebi has it in for me..."

"_Jirachi? Celebi? Who are they?_"

"Other legends like myself. Maybe you'll learn about them someday, maybe you won't."

"_And your... case, did you say? What's a case, anyway?_"

"Are you going to question everything?" Mew glanced back at Evetwo just as the clone tried to stifle a yawn. "Didn't sleep well?"

"_Dreams woke me up. Dodging the question?_"

"What kind of dreams?"

"_Dodging the question?_"

Mew sighed. "Okay, okay. Well, as I've told you, you're not the only Pokémon I have to watch after. Every few years or so, someone is born who needs my protection. Now, usually I only end up with a charge about once every fifty years, give or take, but somehow two of you have cropped up at about the same time. Three, technically, but the other mainly looks after himself now."

"_The acquaintance you mentioned?_"

"Yeah, him. So that leaves you, and an orange hothead I've had to take care of for quite a while now. I'll tell you what, trying to divide my time between you two is tiring. I should be earning frequent flyer miles for this."

"_Earning... what?_"

"It's a human thing. Don't worry about it."

"_Right_..." Evetwo stared at the kitten. "_You're just a little bit crazy, aren't you?_"

"Evetwo, one of these days you're going to realize that crazy is a relative term."

* * *

"So, Mew is with her for sure?" Eevee was quick to the point when her little group set up camp that night. As Sea's first Pokémon, it was Eevee's job to keep track of everything for her evolved counterparts. After all, she was the only one who was never put into a Pokeball, so she heard everything. 

Espeon looked up from the child's lap. The Pokémon thought it was silly of Yota to bring his little daughter along, but the girl did provide a nice, comfy seat for a psychic who had been straining her mind all day. "For sure."

"So it does exist..." Umbreon gazed up at the moon, his rings glowing gently. "I heard stories about Mew when I was a kit, but I always thought they were fairytales."

"We've all heard those stories," piped in the Flareon that was curled up by the fire. "Every last one of us, I bet. That's the one thing a Pokémon always teaches it's kit, the old Mew stories."

"That's all well and good if your parents raise you," a sleekly spiked Jolteon grumbled. "I was raised by a human breeder. I never got to hear any stories."

"I'll tell them to you someday," Eevee offered, shivering with delight as her trainer ran a brush through her fur. Sea brushed them every day, all six of them. Even the fastidiously clean Vaporeon, asleep at her mistress's feet, didn't escape being brushed.

The two human adults and their trainer were talking in low voices in an effort not to wake the now-sleeping child. Eevee let her evolved forms talk while she turned her attention back to the human conversation.

"I still don't see why you couldn't have told her everything back in the lab," Sea was saying. "It would make things a lot easier than having to track her down again."

"Easier for who?" Yota cut a slice of jerky and offered it to Cheryl. "Sea, did you ever see the files on the first one? These things... they can kill. Easily. It seemed to me that it was safer to get on her good side and tell her once she was already free than to risk her trying to escape on her own and killing us all in the process."

"Evetwo isn't a killer, Yota." Cheryl picked at the meat. The woman seemed kind, but she was also very sad. Eevee wondered why. "She may have been a bit spiteful, but she wouldn't take a life without reason. She's not an evil creature."

"I know that now, Cheryl," Yota said patiently, "But I'm still not taking any chances."

"How come?" Sea momentarily forgot the task at hand. Eevee nipped at the brush to remind her of her chore. "What do you know that you're not telling us?"

Yota sighed and flicked a twig at the fire. "Just this," he said. "Of everyone who worked on the project, I was one of the few granted clearance to read the original files. I didn't just read them, I memorized them. Twelve men and women were in the lab when the original specimen was born and went berserk. It killed them _to a man_. Then, when it rebelled a second time, it blew out half of the Viridian City base and inadvertently killed five more people. Now, even if the deaths weren't deliberate on the part of the Pokémon, even if they were accidental, that still means that the thing had more power than it knew what to do with, and destructive tendencies to boot. And those tendencies seemed to be triggered by its grudge against humans. Do you really think I wanted to run the risk of Evetwo turning out the same way as the first one did? She had to see that there was some good in humans before we gave her more reason to hate them."

There was a lengthy silence. Eevee nudged at Sea's hand, more to comfort her than anything else. The brunette ran a hand down her back silently.

"I never knew," Cheryl said bitterly from across the fire. "I knew she was dangerous, but I didn't realize she had that sort of destructive potential."

"That's why we had to wait to tell her about the base. If she knew what had been done to make her, she might have realized what sort of future was waiting for her and tried to escape on her own. Not telling Evetwo about her human base was the smartest thing Giovanni did with this one."

"So you're going to tell her about the base," Sea said. "Will you tell her she's not alone, too? Will you tell her there's another one like her?"

Yota sat back. "I don't know," he said softly. "I really don't know. I suppose it depends on how well she takes the first part."

Eevee's trainer set her down and reached for Flareon next. "Never thought I'd hear you say that," the girl commented as she began to brush her next Pokémon.

* * *

The girl may have acted calm, but inside she was seething. She was usually in some state of anger or another, deep down. Hating ones degenerative crime boss of a father did that to a girl. 

Giovanni's daughter curled up in her sleeping bag with her eyes closed, but she didn't sleep. Instead, Sea ran through everything that they'd discussed that day. A near-photographic memory allowed her to repeat their conversations again and again, trying to think if there was something else she should have caught, a slipped up word, a subtle nuance she might have missed. She replayed the memory of sitting around the campfire over and over again in her mind as Eevee snuggled beside her. Finally, the girl gave in and sat up, looking at the six Pokémon scattered around her. Her beloved Eevee team. Each and every one of these Pokémon had been a gift from her father. Whenever her father gave her a Pokémon, she would try to learn if it was stolen, and, if possible, she would return it. So far, she had lost two Flareon, three Vaporeon, two Jolteon, an Espeon, and an Umbreon in that manner. Only these six had stayed with her regardless of previous ownership, and she loved them all dearly. They were her family.

Across the clearing from her, Espeon sat bold upright.

Sea's whole body tensed. She could read the psychic's body language well enough to know something was wrong. Easing out of her sleeping bag, she walked over to the Pokémon and rested a hand on the alert sentinel's back. Espeon looked up at her, and then back out into the forest. Something was off. "Talk to me," the girl barely whispered. "Talk to me, baby, tell me what's wrong."

But her Espeon told her nothing, instead settling back onto the ground to sleep. Sea ruffled the Pokémon's ears before curling back up in her sleeping bag, spooked. Sleep did not come easy that night.

* * *

"Tell me that thing didn't just break." 

"That thing didn't just break."

"Liar."

"If you don't want me to lie, don't tell me to tell you things that aren't true."

"It's broken, isn't it?"

"Yup. Nope. Wait a minute."

Poochyena opened one eye. His trainer and his trainer's friend sat tinkering over a small device, one that looked kind of like those 'binoculars' that humans used to see roughly the same distance as your average Pidgey. Buwaro-master had been very excited about the devise, claiming it could pick up psychic signals from as far as fifty miles. He had then proceeded to break the device, and Ray-friend had to fix it. Poochyena had overheard Ray-friend telling Buwaro-master that he was useless with technology. Buwaro-master had then told Ray-friend that if it weren't for technology, he would be useless. The puppy had decided to go to sleep right about then. He didn't need to listen to the humans squabble.

That had been the day before yesterday, in the afternoon. Now Poochyena was trying to nap in the sidecar on Buwaro-master's old motorbike while the two men tried to fix the device for what must have been the fifth time. The black and white pup Pokémon with the brown goggles perched on his head was well used to the human's constant bickering, so he pretty much ignored it.

"Okay, I've got it working again."

"Great. Which way are we headed?"

"Um... Same way we were going before. Large psychic reading to the southeast. We're closing in on it fast." There was a shuffling of feet. "Dude, your dog took my seat again."

"It's his seat just as much as it is yours."

"Why don't you call the thing back while we're traveling, sheesh?"

"Come on, Poochie, I know you're awake. Let the idiot sit down."

At his trainer's beckoning, Poochie opened his eyes and hopped out of the sidecar. Buwaro-master sat on the bike, and the pup jumped up in front of him. He liked it there because his trainer let him rest his forepaws on the handlebar. Ray-friend settled into the seat attached to the bike. "Smells like dog."

"Shut up." Buwaro-master reached over to move the Poochyena's goggles into place. "There we go. No dust in your eyes, huh, buddy?" The puppy barked a reply, and they were off again. They'd been on the road since before the sun came up, without stopping. The day before had been the same thing- up before dawn, down long after sunset, with no breaks but to eat and occasionally use a bush. Buwaro-master drove the bike, while Ray-friend sat in the sidecar and used the fragile binoculars. After another forty minutes or so of driving, the man spoke up.

"Bu..."

"Yeah?"

"We just entered direct tracing range. Three miles away and counting."

The bike slowed. "You're positive."

"Yep. The math don't lie."

Behind Poochie, his trainer gave a solemn nod. "Alright, then. Let's go catch us one big son-of-a-bitch Pokémon."

* * *

Evetwo was starting to wonder if they'd ever stop. It wasn't that she minded following Mew. She didn't. She just wished they could stop and see the sights from time to time. She had no idea where they where, but it was beautiful, and she wouldn't have minded looking around just a little bit. 

Finally, when they stopped for lunch, Evetwo had her chance. "_I'm going to go exploring a bit._"

Mew looked up from the berry bush she was searching. "Alone? Are you sure?"

Eve nodded. "_I won't go far. I just want to look at the trees and things, okay?_"

The pink psy-cat shifted around a bit in the air. "If you want to," she said finally, "I guess I can't really stop you, can I?"

Evetwo took that as permission, or as close as she was going to get, and headed off into the forest, back the way they had come. She'd seen the prettiest, most fascinating flowers a little ways back. Bright, colorful, vibrantly alive, they were the kind of thing she could sit and look at for hours after being in a lab for so long. It was just a little farther now. The Pokémon could see the object of her desire through the brush, bright splashes of rainbow colors not a hundred yards away. Funny that she knew what a flower was; she'd never seen one before. But she did, and she left it at that. Arriving at the patch of brilliant foliage, Eve reached for her prize...

"Mudkip, go! Water gun attack!"

The psychic clone had been so intent on the flowers that she'd failed to notice the two humans closing in on her. She flung herself out of the way just as a water jet passed through right where she'd been standing. Spinning around, her feet barely even on the ground any more, Eve saw the two men in black, the red 'R' on their chests proud tribute to who they were and what they stood for. "Don't let up, Mudkip," one man yelled, even as the other was pulling two Pokeballs from his belt. Evetwo darted out of the way again, only to have one of the balls thump to the ground on either side of her. "Beedrill twins, go!"

And Evetwo found herself caught between the biggest, ugliest damn bugs she could imagine. Ick...

* * *

It looked like a really, really big cat. 

Poochie stood at his trainer's side, watching Ray-friend's twin bees appear in perfect flanking position to the strange psychic, knowing that the pressure of Buwaro-master's leg on his side meant to stay put. The creature looked frantically to either side, first at one Beedrill, then at the other. It stepped back, even as it's feet hovered a good three inches over the dirt, and the bees moved with it. Ray-friend grinned. "Get it, boys! Twin needle attack!"

The big Pokémon made a strange noise in its throat as the bugs swooped in at it from either side. It was shaking slightly, and its eyes were wide... and then it turned and fled, the menacing yellow and black insects right on it's trail. Ray-friend whooped. "Hot damn... Buwaro, I think it's actually scared of them!"

"Type alignments," Buwaro-master muttered. "Psychics have a base weakness against bugs. Mudkip, block it's way! Make it fight back!"

The water-type didn't need to be told twice. It blasted a solid water gun attack towards the Pokémon, cutting its path off with the horizontal wall of water. The Pokémon tried to veer off into another direction, only to find itself face-to-face with the two insects. It looked around it again, panic registering for just a moment, and then a steely determination set in, and the red eyes flashed. Mudkip, Beedrill, and Beedrill were all swept aside in a flash of psychic energy that crumpled the water-type and left even the insects immobile. The Beedrill's dual poison class had done them in. And then the pressure lifted from the small pup's side, the signal to attack.

Snarling, the dark type sailed through a second wave of psychic energy, closer, closer, close enough to see how the bright red eyes got wide. Poochie landed not ten feet from his trainer's target, from his target, only to push off the ground, teeth bared, and flung himself towards the panicked psy. The Pokémon sent another devastating wave of energy at him, but Poochie shrugged it off, and heard it cry out. "_Why? Why can't I hurt you?_"

Poochie didn't answer, merely set himself to the task in hand and bit down hard on the big cat's leg. The Pokémon opened its mouth then and screeched bloody murder, a high-pitched, ear-splitting wail that left the poor puppy stunned. His grip loosened without him meaning for it to, and the Pokémon attempted to flee as the dog shook his head. But Poochie wasn't one to give up. He lunged again...

"Jolteon, Volt Tackle! Go!"

The collision came from the side. The black pup howled as a sharp charge coursed through his body, but he managed to stand again. He could see, from the corner of his eyes, Mudkip and one of the Beedrill struggling to their feet to face down the new menace, the Jolteon and it's trainer that had come out of nowhere. And then another Pokémon appeared from the bushes, and another, and Poochie realized that the one little Jolteon was the least of his worries.

This was going to hurt.

* * *

I think Poochyena, our little goggled dog with the unfortunate nickname of "Poochie," is going to become one of my favorite characters, I really do. And the Eevee team is just cool. Next chapter, I'll conclude this battle and get into some of the deeper stuff. Man, I hate writing the deeper stuff. Oh, well. See you soon! 


	6. The Cruel Truth

Can I go to sleep now? Aheh. Wow, a double update. This will probably never happen again, be warned. Now we have the conclusion of that battle from the last chapter, with the tables tipped to Evetwo's favor, and some of the deeper stuff that I do so hate to write, followed by extreme humor as I go for one of Buwaro's ideas. Yes, Bu. The hairbrush is in here. I hope you're sufficiently entertained. I know I was when writing it. Also, appologies to Ray, but the sad truth is, yes, that is what would happen to you. Aheh...

_

* * *

_

_Identity is a priceless thing. Without an identity, we're all just faceless nobodies wandering through life without aim or purpose. Sometimes, you'll hear about somebody breaking down. They call it 'identity crisis,' uncertainty, anxiety caused by not knowing who you are or where you came from. Humans are good at having identity crises. With everyone pushing down on you to be who you're not, it's easy to loose sight of who you really are. So what happens when you didn't know who you were in the first place? _

* * *

"Eon squad in position!" Eevee's trainer stood behind her, practically in the line of fire with her Pokémon. "Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon! Hold down the Mudkip and the Beedrills! Espeon and Umbreon! Protect that psychic! Eevee, let's take this dog down!" 

Eevee nodded curtly as her kin moved to their appointed positions, her gaze focused solely on the canine in front of her. Poochyenna were bigger than Eevees, and dark types were scary, but the little brown puffball wasn't afraid. One of the Rockets started yelling at Sea, but the other dashed over and took his place behind the dog. "No one's stealing this catch from us, brat! If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you've got! Come on, Poochie! Take down attack!"

"Eevee, meet it head on with a Slam! Try and come up from below it!" Eevee tucked her body low, virtually skimming over the ground at the black and white puppy. She launched herself upward as they collided, skull to skull, and managed to knock the dog's head back a bit. It shook itself, and Eevee realized that it was still disoriented after the screech that had alerted her friends to the battle. She took advantage of the situation and hit the canine hard with another Slam.

Behind her, her trainer yelped as the other Rocket grabbed her by the arm. Eevee spun to defend her trainer, only to be bowled off her feet by the stubborn puppy. Eevee went into a roll, fumbling to get to her feet...

When the biggest Persian she had ever set eyes on burst through the bushes over her head, snarling, and came down forefeet-first on the hapless pup. The Poochyenna cried out as long claws raked its nose, dangerously close to its eyes, and its trainer swore. "Poochie! Mudkip! Return!" The man called his Pokémon back to their balls and ran. Accosted by an enraged human teenager, the other Rocket was also recalling his Pokémon. Eevee had to laugh at the man's startled expression as Sea laid into him with fists and feet, screaming profanities the entire time. There was a roar of an engine, and a motorcycle cut through the clearing, driven by the first of the two Rockets. The second jumped into a ridiculous cart on the side, and, shaking his fists, yelled threats of vengeance even as his partner motored it out of there.

"And stay away, you slimy bastards!" Sea had to get the last word in, as always. Eevee shook her head at her trainer, and then turned to check on the large psychic they had 'rescued' from imminent re-capture. She was standing, red eyes locked with Espeon's. Umbreon circled the two warily, loathe to trust such a wild Pokémon around his mate. Eevee trotted over, accompanied by her other evolved kinsman, to sit in a ring around the psychic. The Pokémon looked at them each in turn, and then to the human girl. The Persian had disappeared.

"_Who... are you?_"

Eevee blinked at the sudden mental contact. So she could speak telepathically, in the language of the humans. Her trainer stepped forward. "It's okay. We're friends." Her voice was strong, but Eevee could detect the slightest vibration, the wavering that told her, and only her, that her trainer was a little bit afraid. She left the circle to make the jump to her trainer's arms, her place of honor. The girl caught her instinctively, and Eevee snuggled her head up under the child's chin, never taking her eyes off the Pokémon clone.

"_I don't know you. You are not my friend._"

"Didn't say I was a friend of yours." Sea nodded her head towards the young woman emerging from the bushes to their left. "I'm a friend of hers."

At first, the startled clone simply stared at Cheryl in wonder. Then, quite abruptly, the creature made a high keening noise and threw itself at the human, knocking her clean off her feet. Cheryl didn't seem to mind being knocked flat on her rear; her only reaction was to hug the Pokémon's upper body to her. The Pokémon raised her head to look into the human's eyes, and they must have shared some silent communication, because the woman's face softened, and she ruffled the hair that didn't quite seem to fit on the lithe frame of the Pokémon.

"It's okay, Eve," she murmured. "It's okay. I'm here now."

* * *

Angie was no stranger to Pokémon. Several of her friends had older siblings who were trainers, and a lot of people she knew had Pokémon that lived with their families as pets. Even her best friend Nina had a Skitty of her very own, so she wasn't afraid of meeting anything new. But when her daddy's friends came back with the new Pokémon, Angie could see right away, even at her young age, that this one was special. It was big; the biggest Pokémon she'd ever seen, aside from an Onyx a couple of years ago. But the way it looked around it uncertainly made it seem smaller somehow. It walked the same way she did, on two legs, step, step, step, but as it walked, a big tail moved behind it, swing, swing, swing, with each step. Then the Pokémon stopped and looked at her daddy, and the little girl studied its face quietly. It had big red eyes that reminded Angie of the ruby on Nina's mommy's ring, only loads darker. It also had very long hair, the kind that was fun to braid. The little girl decided right away that it was a very pretty Pokémon.

* * *

The enthusiastic greeting had caught the young woman off guard. Cheryl had never expected Evetwo to actually miss her in any way, or to have worried about her safety when the Pokémon fled the lab. She certainly hadn't expected any signs of affection from the stoic Pokémon. But then Evetwo had tackled her, literally knocking her off her feet, and making the strangest sound along with it. Cheryl had never heard the slightest peep from the Pokémon in the few months they had known each other in the lab. Nor had she ever seen the Pokémon's eyes look so alive. And then, to top it all off, Evetwo had followed her _willingly_ back to the camp that Yota was setting up, talking to her the whole time about how beautiful the outside was, and how good things smelled and tasted, and how she got to watch the sun rise and set for the first time ever. 

And now Cheryl was going to have to break her heart.

Evetwo seemed to recognize Yota when they reached the camp. At least, she had a look on her face as though she was trying to figure out where she'd seen him before. Cheryl hastily made the introductions, telling Evetwo that this was the man responsible for her freedom, and that he had some very important things he needed to talk to her about. She then had to introduce Evetwo to little Angie, who had sat staring up at the Pokémon with wide-eyed wonder written across her face. The Pokémon had nodded to the child, and then her head snapped up and she began to look around her frantically.

"_Oh! Oh, where is she? I completely forgot about her, she won't be happy with me!_"

Cheryl stared. "She who, Eve?"

"_Ah... someone I met along the way. I really want you to see her, Cheryl, you'd love her. Only..._" Evetwo had frowned distinctly, something else Cheryl couldn't remember her ever doing. "_She's not here_."

"There was a Persian that didn't belong to any of us," Sea announced abruptly, "Was that your friend?"

Evetwo stared at the girl, and then nodded. "_Yeah. That was her_."

"It was gone before the Rocket's even left."

The Pokémon seemed to ponder over this for a few moments before she shrugged. The humanity of the gesture was like a knife in Cheryl's heart. Across the way, Yota nodded to her. She looked at him pleadingly. Couldn't they wait just one more day? Evetwo wasn't bothered by what she was, she didn't even think about it any more. Why destroy that now? Couldn't they just give her one more day in blissful ignorance? But Yota was shaking his head, and deep down, Cheryl knew he was right. They had to get this over with. They had to tell her.

Without being told to, Sea suddenly took the small child by the hand, telling her about these wonderful flowers she'd noticed when they'd picked up Evetwo, and wouldn't it be nice to pick some for her daddy?

Cheryl took a deep breath. "Eve... Do you remember when I said that there was still so much that you needed to know?"

She didn't take it well.

First, what she didn't want to hear, she denied. It simply couldn't be true, absolutely not, wasn't possible. Then she became angry, and yelled at them for making up lies. And then finally she fell into a despondent silence and listened to every bitter word.

Evetwo sat in a lengthy silence after Yota finished speaking. Finally, she raised her eyes, and Cheryl felt a little piece of her die inside when she saw that the life was again gone. "_You're telling me that to speed my growth, they actually killed a human child._" Yota nodded, but Cheryl said nothing. The Pokémon spoke again, this time looking directly at Yota. "_You let them do this_."

"I didn't have a choice, Evetwo. It was already out of my hands. The least I could do was see to it that you lived, that the child's death might have served some purpose."

"_You let them do this!_" Evetwo's 'voice' dripped venom. Yota shifted nervously, and Cheryl knew he was thinking of the files on the first. If Evetwo was going to turn violent, now would be the time.

"I just told you, I had no choice!" Yota raised his voice in return. "I didn't want to do this, Eve, I had to. I had to so you could survive."

"_You could have said no. You could have taken her away_."

"They'd already started the procedure. It would have just killed her faster."

The Pokémon shifted restlessly, staring out into the trees. "_How?_"

"There were a lot of factors. I couldn't possibly explain them all. One way to change a person's DNA is through bone marrow transplantation. They kill off the original marrow and replace it with some from a compatible donor. They'd already killed off the child's bone marrow and were prepping to replace it when I came in. If I had taken her then, she would have become ill and died. It kills your immune system, Evetwo."

Silence again. And then, so softly, "_And you say some of the human remains in me_."

Yota had never looked older to Cheryl than he did at that moment. "It's your hair, Evetwo. It's not supposed to be there. None of the implanted genetics could have caused it. It matches the child's."

The Pokémon turned away.

* * *

She felt numb inside. Closing her eyes, she willed the outside world to just go away, melt away to nothing. 

Could it really be true? Could she have been born from a human base, a child? Could there really be a tiny part of her that retained the essence of that child? Had Team Rocket really killed one of their own just to make her?

There was a sharp inhalation behind her, and Evetwo opened her eyes to meet clear blue. Mew nuzzled at her with her nose, and Evetwo raised a hand, brushed at the tiny psychic half-heartedly. "_You knew._"

"I did."

"_Why?_" The clone found she could barely think to speak. "_Why didn't you say something?_"

"These humans lived every moment in guilt. This is their way of trying to atone. It would have been cruel to take that from them." Evetwo tried to speak, but found she couldn't, so she simply nodded instead. Her 'voice' seemed to have escaped her for the time being. She turned to look behind her, and found both humans to be staring at Mew. The psy looked back at the kitten questioningly. Mew sighed. "Well, as long as they can keep their mouths shut, I figure we're good. I won't do anything to them, I promise."

That night, curled into a ball under a tree, Evetwo could hear Cheryl tossing and turning. The little girl Angie who had looked at her with such wonder had taken to Mew in much the same way, with the obvious difference being that Mew was tiny, and could be hugged close in little arms while one slept. The kitten had grudgingly allowed the child to cuddle her, grumbling softly about what would happen if there was any tail-pulling, and was now curled up with her head under the child's chin. Eve suspected she was actually enjoying the attention; it was the first time she had ever heard Mew purr. She envied the little cat.

For the first time, it was hitting her just how different she really was.

Cheryl shifted again, and Evetwo heard a rustling from Yota's direction as well. "You okay over there?"

There was a second of stillness, and then soft movement. "Sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Naw, couldn't sleep anyway. You?"

Cheryl sighed, and Eve suddenly wished she could see the woman's face. "We killed her, Yota... we killed her today, telling her like that."

"We had to do it, Cher. She deserved to know."

"She wasn't ready."

"She was."

"You didn't see her eyes!" The woman struggled to keep her voice low. "For just a few minutes, I saw something in her eyes that wasn't there back at the lab. She was actually looking forward to living, Yota! But now... now her eyes are dead again, just like they were before!"

"She'll find her life again," Yota said firmly. "She already has once."

"What do you mean?" Evetwo was glad the woman voiced the question; she was wondering the same thing herself. Yota cleared his throat.

"I mean the day the base died and she was born. I was there, Cheryl. Her heart stopped, and try as we might, absolutely nothing would start it again. Then, after four minutes, it just started beating again. By itself." There was a moment's silence before the man continued. "Although sometimes I wonder..."

"Wonder what?"

"I wonder... if the base really died. Maybe it was only the body making a transition. Maybe, somewhere inside Evetwo, the little girl still lives."

Eve thought her lungs would burst as she let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding and curled tighter into her little ball. The base, still alive inside of her? If that was the case, it would mean that instead of being born from a human, she had been human herself.

And suddenly, the strange dreams she'd been having had meaning.

She wasn't sure when she went to sleep. It had been long after the humans had stopped talking, she knew that. But she woke to something tugging at her head, and the sound of Sea's voice. "This can't end well."

The tugging persisted. Evetwo curled up, trying to get... whatever... to leave her alone, and suddenly there was a fierce yank on her scalp. Evetwo screeched, and sat up, dragging Mew with her. The little kitten was hanging from a hairbrush that had caught in Eve's tangled hair. "_The hell, Mew?_"

"It needs brushing."

Evetwo stared at the kitten for a moment before shaking her head vigorously, sending both kitten and hairbrush flying. Rising to her feet, the clone shook herself off, drawing a couple of stares from the humans. "_You know, it's really rude to..._" She trailed off. Where was Mew now? The answer came in the form of a fierce yank from behind. "_Hey! Knock it off!_" She spun, only to have Mew dart around behind her again. "_I said stop!_" To her left, she could hear giggles from the human child. Evetwo spun again, but somehow Mew was faster. Growling, the Pokémon darted across the camp. Maybe she could use one of the humans as a shield or something. She spun around once she'd gotten behind Cheryl... and the damn kitten was behind her again! "_Stop!_"

And, quite suddenly, Mew did. Her whole body tensed in midair, and she dropped the brush. "Gotta run for a while. Keep heading for Goldenrod. See you!"

And she was gone. Evetwo stared at the spot the kitten had occupied, and then blankly at the brush on the ground, which Sea was picking up. "Come on," the human sighed. "I'm pretty good at this, and you're a mess."

"_What's Goldenrod?_"

"Huh?"

"_Goldenrod. Mew said to keep heading for Goldenrod._"

"It's a city." The human grabbed a length of hair and started combing at the ends. Evetwo looked down at her. "What? It needs to be done."

Eevee piped up from Sea's shoulder. "You don't have to be scared. Sea won't hurt you."

"_Didn't think she could_," the irate clone said, settling into a sitting position on the ground. Better to have a somewhat gentle human grooming her than an insane, hyper kitten. The brushing actually felt kind of nice.

Mew didn't show up at all that day. Evetwo contented herself with talking to Espeon, a strange, split-tailed feline of the psychic class, like herself. Espeon was always closely accompanied by Umbreon, a black and gold 'dark' type. Umbreon was proud and boastful, whereas his counterpart was more modest. They complimented each other in a strange way, and Evetwo wasn't surprised to find that they were a mated pair. Also constantly present was Eevee, who sat on her trainer's shoulder and seemed to be in charge of the other Pokémon. They were all so close...

Towards twilight, as Yota and Sea set up camp and Cheryl started preparing dinner, Evetwo was startled by a tugging at her hand. She looked down to find tiny Angie looking up at her. "Wanna make wreaths with me?"

"_Wreaths?_"

"Yeah, with wildflowers. I saw some over there." Evetwo stared at the child, recalling yesterday's experience with flowers, and then nodded slowly.

"_Alright_."

Mew showed up again the next morning, just as the small group came into view of a large, sprawling city by the seaside. The kitten nodded curtly as she looked out over the city. "Well, here we are, Goldenrod City, home of the magnet train. And that takes us to Saffron."

"_Saffron?_"

Mew nodded. "Yep. Saffron. We're going to get you some help, kiddo, but we won't find it in Johto. We're going to Kanto!"

* * *

So! I'll have another chapter up by the end of the week, and then the fun begins! See you then! Remember to review! 


	7. Even Stranger Relations

Chapter seven, huh? This updates faster than anything else I've ever worked on. Mew's a smart ass... Damn, I hope I pulled this one off well... Just a note, you all might want to read Tales of Flame soon. It's really, really good and it's getting longer every day. Now let's go!

_

* * *

_

_Anyone who's ever taken a psychology class, and many people who have not, will tell you that there are certain instincts ingrained into us all, human and inhuman alike. One of the most basic of these instincts is fight versus flight. When faced with something that threatens us, two instincts will set in at once; the instinct to flee to safety, or the instinct to stand our ground and defend what's ours. Sometimes it ends cleanly, without conflict, as both sides prefer to avoid confrontation. But other times, if even one party tends towards violence, things can get very, very messy indeed..._

_

* * *

_

Everyone had gone into the city.

Well, not everyone. Mew was still with her. But the humans had all gone down into Goldenrod. Evetwo sat staring out over the city, watching the sun set into the ocean beyond. The kitten had told her that if she wanted, they could venture into the city after dark, but only if they stayed on the rooftops and out of sight. The clone still hadn't decided if she wanted to or not.

"_Hey, Mew?_"

Mew looked up from the grass she was rooting around in. "Yeah?"

Eve was silent for a moment. "_I think... what they told me yesterday... I think I already knew._"

The kitten's full attention was on her now. "Why do you say that?"

"_I've been having these dreams lately, about a human child. I think it's me..._"

Mew made a sad sound. "It is."

"_You know everything, huh?_"

"No, but I know that, at least."

Evetwo ran her tail back and forth through the grass. "_I don't think I want to go into the city._"

"Alright. Well, in that case, follow me. I need to show you the plans for tomorrow."

"_So, let me get this straight._" Even after thinking it over for a few hours that evening, Evetwo was still a little uncertain as to Mew's scheme. "_We're going to wait for the train to go by, and then we're going to hitch a ride on top of it all the way to Kanto. And you can honestly say we won't get caught?_"

"Normally we would, but right now the surveillance systems in the tunnels are down."

"_And I'm to believe that you had absolutely nothing to do with this convenient turn of events?_"

Mew became very interested in tugging at one of Angie's curls. The little girl was hugging the kitten to her. "Just call it destiny."

"Uh-huh." Evetwo stared into the little camp fire. Come morning, the humans would board the train to Saffron, and apparently she and Mew would stow away and go with them, although whether or not they actually met up in the city was undecided. Sea sat brushing Jolteon, the last on her list of six, and Eve wondered what was running through the electric animal's mind as the human tended to him. He had a dreamily content look on his face. Evetwo envied him. He knew who he was, and where he belonged. It wasn't fair...

"Eve!" The Pokémon's head snapped up. Cheryl looked at her strangely. "I've been calling you for five minutes now! Are you okay?"

"_Yeah. Fine_." Evetwo stood and headed for the tree line. "_I'm going to get some sleep. See you in the morning_."

* * *

"Ow... that hurts..." 

"Quit your whining, Ray. It's your own fault."

Poochie opened one eye. Buwaro-master was dabbing at Ray-friend's black eye again, the product of being beaten up by the Eevee trainer. The Poochyena thought it sad that the young man had been beaten up by a girl half his size that didn't even have a type advantage. Growling softly to himself, the dog touched his own face with a paw, where the bandages were. He would have taken down the Eevee, and the stupid psychic, if that damn Persian hadn't interfered. The next time he saw that cat, he decided, he would bite it in the neck for sure. Maybe then it'd mind it's own damn business.

Poochie knew his trainer worked for an evil man, but that didn't matter to the dark puppy. After all, Buwaro-master took good care of him and Mudkip, and that was more than could be said for a lot of Rockets. Even Ray-friend wasn't as bad as most of his co-workers, despite the lapses in judgement that the human seemed to suffer when in the presence of the female of the species. Actually, that was something the two boys shared. Female problems. Poochie imagined that's what made them such good friends in the first place.

Buwaro-master finished taking care of his friend's eye. Ray-friend had been in a constant sulk ever since his humiliating defeat, whereas Buwaro-master had been quiet and introspective. Poochie knew what was on his mind. Whenever they lost a battle, his master would brood over what they could have possibly done differently. Poochie got up and padded over to lick the man's hand. There hadn't been anything they could have done differently; they'd been caught off guard. Next time, they'd just have to be ready.

Buwaro-master looked down at the little pup, and Poochie yipped and licked his hand again. The human smiled. "Thanks, little guy. Don't you worry, we'll get that thing next time."

* * *

"_You're absolutely, positively certain we're not going to get caught._" 

"Yes, for the millionth time."

Evetwo watched, safely out of sight, as the train approached. "_You're positive_."

"I jammed a fork into the power supply, okay?"

"_So you did have something to do with it!_"

"Well, yeah, what did you expect?"

"_And that destiny line was a load of bull!_"

"Not exactly."

"_But you just said you killed the surveillance._"

"It was destiny. I was destined to kill the surveillance. Get ready to move." Mew's body tensed up like a coil. "Remember, wait for the luggage cars, they have no windows... NOW!" The cat shot out of the bush once the passenger cars had passed, and Evetwo followed, landing on the roof of the train only to go skidding back. She shot off over the back of the train, and then stopped abruptly when something seized her by the wrist. Mew had lassoed Eve's arm with her tail. "You know, you're supposed to try holding on."

The clone reached desperately for some sort of handhold. "_Pull me up, damn it!_"

"Yeah, yeah." Mew tugged a bit, trying to drag Evetwo in far enough that the clone could pull herself up. "You know, you're really, really heavy."

Evetwo clung to the top of the train and glared up at the cat. "_You knew that was going to happen._"

"I kind of figured as much, yeah." Mew's tail slapped the top of the train, and Eve realized that the kitten was just sitting there, not hanging on to anything.

"_How are you doing that?_"

"I'm psychic."

"_I hate you._"

"Now, now, you know it's not nice to lie to mind-readers."

* * *

Down inside the train, Eevee let the world blow by with little interest paid to the outside. Of more concern to her were the two human men not even half a car length ahead of them, lanky young guys in scruffy, nondescript clothing. Both of them had hats pulled down over most of their faces, but Eevee had seen, looking up at them as they walked by, a black eye, not more than three days old. The two Rockets that had been after the psychic clone. Now Eevee sat for all appearances looking out the window, mutely watching the reflection of the two men in the glass. If they started anything on the train, in such enclosed spaces, a lot of people could get hurt. Fortunately, the two Rockets seemed content to sit and enjoy the ride without giving anyone a hard time, for now, anyway.

* * *

"Evetwo... Hey, Evetwo... I know you can hear me..." Evetwo lay flat across the top of the car with her face pressed against the cool painted metal. She's been laying like that for the whole trip. If she raised her head, she thought she might throw up. Mew persisted. "Evetwo, it's almost our stop. Come on, don't ignore me. I know you can hear me. I can hear you trying to ignore me right now." 

"_Go away before I puke on you._"

"If we don't get off the train real soon, you're going to get caught."

"_Just me, huh?_"

"Yep. Just you. I'll have bailed long before that."

Evetwo raised her head grudgingly. Mew looked... fine. The train might as well have not been moving for the tiny psychic. If only her own stomach could be that calm. "_How are we getting off of this thing?_"

"Do you really want to know?"

"_Do I have a choice?_"

"Good point. Let's go."

And then Mew bent down and viciously bit Evetwo on the wrist. The clone squealed and jerked her hand away, inadvertently letting go of the handhold that was keeping her on the train. Sliding backwards, she clambered for a new place to grasp the vehicle, only to go shooting off the back of the train. "_Mew!_"

The psychic clone landed, quite abruptly, on a very bouncy pink bubble. Mew glided over to her as she sat trying to get her head to stop spinning. "What? You didn't really think I was just going to let you hit the ground, did you?"

"_You could have killed me!_"

"I was in full control of the situation the whole time."

"_I could have died!_" The bubble popped, and Eve landed, quite hard, on the ground below. She whimpered slightly and shifted so that she was no longer sitting on her tail.

"I was right here, I wasn't going to let you die." Mew licked at the bitten wrist, and the pain ebbed just a bit. "You're family, Evetwo. Even if I'm not always around, I'm not about to let you get hurt." Eve looked away, her ego more bruised than anything else. "Come on, don't be that way. If I'd have told you we had to jump off the train, you wouldn't have been able to do it, would you?" The clone stubbornly refused to meet the original's eyes. "You wouldn't have done it in time, and you know it. You would have hesitated too long."

"_You make my head hurt sometimes_."

"You know I'm right."

"_Well... yeah_."

Mew did a little flip. "See? Don't I just know you so well? Now, you be a good girl and wait here. I have to go hunt someone down." Evetwo nodded numbly, and Mew settled onto the ground. Her whole body seemed to lengthen, and soon the Persian stood there in her place. The clone stared.

"_How'd you do that?_"

"It's called transform. Bloody useful technique, I can become any Pokémon I want to. Excellent camouflage."

"_Oh... Can you teach me to do that?_"

The Persian looked up at Evetwo with her head tilted to one side before shaking her head. "Nope. Won't work. You'd never be able to do it."

It wasn't the answer Eve had expected. "_Why the hell not? Anything you can do, I should be able to do, too!_"

"Nope. You're DNA is too unstable. It'd never work." Persian batted her with a paw. "Now you wait here for me, and stay out of trouble. I'll be back just as soon as I find who I'm looking for." The cat started off towards the city in the distance.

Evetwo sat and waited for Mew for what had to be several hours. At first, she didn't mind the solitude. It let her think. Unfortunately, all she could really think about was her own place in the world, or if she even had one at all. After a while, that got to be depressing, so she banished any thoughts from her head and watched the sun go down. Mew still didn't return. The lights came on in the city as twilight gave way to night, and Eve began to wonder if maybe the kitten had decided to leave her until morning again. If she had, then maybe it would be okay to go exploring, right? All she had to do was stay high up on the rooftops, out of sight. So Evetwo stood up and took to the air, heading for the city.

For a while she stood on a rooftop on the edge of town, looking down into the metropolitan jungle. Then, slowly, she worked her way inward one building at a time. The tops of the highest buildings were dark; all the people who worked in them seemed to have gone home. Her goal was a tall, tall tower in the heart of the city. Eve figured she should be able to see everything from there. But she never made it that far, because turning a corner around a dark office building, Evetwo found herself face to face with the last thing she had ever, ever expected to see.

One of her own kind.

They stood in mid-air, staring at each other. Evetwo noticed right off that this one was bigger than she was. The features were more masculine than hers were. He was taller, heavier, more angled than she was. He gave off a more imposing aura than she ever could. And as his eyes narrowed at the sight of her, she realized that he was very, very hostile.

She turned tail and fled.

* * *

The little one was fast, but he was faster. Mewtwo darted across the skyline in pursuit of the smaller clone, determined to catch up to it, bring it down, and find out who created it, who sent it here. In his mind, there was only one explanation for why another would have ever been created- to defeat him. And of course, someone associated with Team Rocket had to have made it, but who? Who would remember how to do it? 

The fact that the little one fled told him that it hadn't been ready for him, that it had been caught just as off guard as he had. For a moment, he entertained the idea that perhaps it hadn't even known about him, but he shoved any benevolent thoughts out of his head quickly. It was far better to be safe than sorry, after all. Better to let suspicion rule than to relax his guard and become captured.

The little one curved sharply around another building, and Mewtwo smiled grimly. It had just turned into an alleyway, cornering itself. He cut it off just as it turned to try and backtrack, and it shot upwards instead. He flung a shadow ball up after it, missing it by inches. The other took off towards the outskirts of the city, probably intending to take shelter in a real forest instead of a man-made maze of concrete and glass. Mewtwo went after it intently. Catch up to it. Bring it down. Question it at his leisure. Simple enough.

It turned blindly into another dead end, the buildings too close to fly between at such a rate of speed, and Mewtwo angled higher. This time when it tried to backtrack and go over his head, he met it from above and fired down at it. The blow caught it head on, and it plummeted down to one of the roofs below. Mewtwo heard a sharp wail of pain as the shadow ball hit. It was, to his surprise, distinctly feminine. The super-psychic blinked. Was that their plan, to catch him off guard with a little female and ensnare him that way? Team Rocket was badly underestimating him if it was.

Below him, the female pushed herself up and took off again. So, she had some stamina. But that attack and the resulting crash had taken a lot out of her, he could tell. He darted around another corner after her...

And was nearly hit by a ball of black light. The tiny female had tried to meet him off guard with a small, indistinct shadow ball of her own. He could hear it impact one of the buildings behind him as she streaked off around another turn, obviously hoping to loose him that way. Unfortunately, the pathetically weak female didn't seem to have the slightest idea where she was going, and, after a few more turns, had cornered herself yet again. And this time, high above her and ready for it, Mewtwo had the advantage. He readied the shot that would bring her down...

And stopped short as a small pink blur darted in between them. "Stop this now, both of you! That's enough!"

* * *

She'd never been so glad to see Mew before. Panting, gasping for air, Evetwo wavered at what had to be several hundred feet off the ground. The urge to bolt was still strong, but as long as Mew was there, she was protected, wasn't she? Evetwo took a shaky breath and winced. Her stomach hurt where she'd been hit, and her energy was drained from taking a shot with such an unfamiliar attack as... whatever that had been she'd ended up throwing at him. She wasn't entirely sure what she had done; she'd simply copied her assailant. She felt like she was just going to fall out of the air right there. 

Above her, Mew was actually yelling at the other clone. "I can't believe you! Shoot first, ask question later, that's the story of your life, isn't it? She was running! Running, Mewtwo! I hardly think she constitutes a threat when she's more afraid of you than you are of her!" 'Mewtwo' said nothing, only looked to the side, and Mew spun on Eve. "And you! I told you to say outside the city, right where I left you! Did it ever occur to you, even once, that I had a reason for that? Did you ever stop to think that maybe I was trying to protect you from the likes of Mr. Act First, Think Later over here?"

"_Sorry..._" Evetwo was startled by how tiny her voice sounded. "_I'm sorry..._"

Mew stared at her for a moment before turning and heading towards the outskirts of town. "Come on, both of you. We've got some talking to do. Honestly, I've had to put up with enough crap lately without having to worry about you two trying to kill each other."

Evetwo grudgingly followed Mew, glancing uneasily at Mewtwo as she passed him before resolutely looking ahead of her. There was a coppery taste in her mouth and it still hurt to breath, but she decided to just go along with the angry kitten and worry about that later.

They landed maybe a couple of miles outside the city, in a thick grove of trees. Eve settled herself down leaning against a broad tree trunk and rested her head back against the bark. Mew moved over to her anxiously. "You're mouth is bleeding. Let me see where you got hit." Evetwo rested a hand gingerly on her stomach, and Mew nosed at the area, causing the injured clone to wince. "Yeah, I thought so. I would recommend not getting hit there again for a very, very long time, okay, kiddo?" Eve nodded as Mewtwo landed behind Mew. The kitten turned. "And as for you, buddy, what gives? You don't call, you don't write, I'd almost say you didn't like me any more."

Mewtwo stared at the little cat. "_You are not the same. You are not the Mew that I first met._" The tone of his voice made Eve shiver. Mew just looked amused.

"Sure I am. There's only one of me, you know."

"_You are different_."

Mew blinked, and then her eyes lit up. "Oh! You mean that! No, that's just something I can screw around with when I feel like it. Don't worry. It's still me."

Mewtwo seemed to consider that for a moment before looking past Mew and directly at Evetwo.

"_Who is she?_"

"Well, wouldn't you know, that's why I'm here. See, Team Rocket made this little girl with the data that you left behind."

"_I left nothing_."

"You left plenty, or at least enough for them to make her. And now, I need you to take care of her." Evetwo's head snapped up. Mew was going to leave her? With _him_?

Mew and Mewtwo were still arguing well over an hour later when Evetwo gave up and decided to try and sleep. It wasn't that she didn't have a few protests of her own; she did. She didn't want to just be dumped off like that. But, as Mew firmly pointed out, the little legend didn't have as much time as she needed to teach Eve everything she was supposed to know. Mew had others who needed her help; she simply could not be there to protect Evetwo every moment of every day. And every moment that Evetwo was alone was another moment in which she was vulnerable, at least until she learned to defend herself properly. Finally, the little female had to admit that Mew was right.

That hardly meant that Mewtwo agreed, though. Curled up into a ball with her back to them, Evetwo could still hear the two bickering. Mewtwo was dead set against looking after her; Mew was equally adamant that Eve stay with him, because who else could she trust with her precious, precious 'little sister'? Mewtwo said that Eve was a liability and would get him caught. Mew pointed out that she would be even more dangerous in Team Rocket's hands knowing as much as she did. Mewtwo looked Mew straight in the eye and said that he could easily fix that. Mew fixed him with an equally intent stare and said that if he tried, he would suddenly find himself suffering the worst migraine headache he'd ever had, enough so that he wouldn't be able to function. Mewtwo called the female a 'hindrance.' Mew said that she'd provide a good learning experience, maybe even teach him to be a little less selfish. There must have been a dozen more arguments that Mewtwo set forward for why he shouldn't have to take care of her. Mew shot each and every one down. Finally, and it must have been past midnight by this time, Mewtwo gave in. Evetwo would go with him, and he would teach her how to survive.

Curled up in her little ball, Eve felt ready to cry until she felt a soft touch on her shoulder. Mew was resting her chin there, looking down at you. "If you want, I can find your friends in the morning so you can say goodbye, okay? It's a long way to the Sevii islands, and you might not get to come back to the mainland for a while." The miserable clone nodded, glad, at least, that she could see the people that actually _cared_ one more time. Mew nuzzled at her. "It's going to be okay, I promise. Remember, I won't let anything happen to you."

* * *

I hope I pulled that off... I really do... did I pull that off? Tell me I pulled that off... 


	8. Destination in Mind

I think this was the most exhausting chapter for me to write. Have you ever had a character that was just a pain in the neck to write, and it made you tired? I want my energy back! Oi!

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_Sometimes, life just isn't fair. People are put in situations they don't want to be in, all in the name of the greater good. Usually, there's a hidden opportunity in these situations, or at the very least a chance for self-improvement. Of course, if we're stubborn enough, those chances can be pretty easily overlooked. And that opens the door for all hell to break loose in the long run..._

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* * *

_

The dreams woke her before dawn. Lying awake in the grove, Evetwo listened for a while to the stillness around her. Nothing moved but the leaves on the trees and one long pink tail, hanging off of a branch and swaying gently with the breeze. Standing up and stretching out to her full height, Eve could just see Mew sprawled out on the limb with her little paws hanging over the sides, fast asleep. Never before had the tiny psychic looked like such a kitten as she did right then, and the clone found herself wanting to either hug her or tie a knot in the temptingly long tail. Scowling, Eve turned away. Mew didn't _deserve_ any hugs, not with the way the cat was just going to abandon her.

Mewtwo was nowhere to be seen. This was a good thing, Eve decided. The sun wasn't up yet, but she could hear sounds from the waking city, and she wanted to resume last night's interrupted explorations. She crept as close to the buildings as she dared to on foot, before taking the high road across the rooftops. There was activity, a lot of it, along one street. People were unloading truckloads of fruits and vegetables and other good food things onto stands along the sidewalks. A small group of men were setting up a banner with words on it that stretched all the way across the road. Evetwo stared at the letters, willing her mind to slide back into its human memories and tell her what the words were. Small shadows of memory slipped past, memories of desks and books and symbols on chalkboards, letters, numbers, punctuation. She closed her eyes in the waning darkness, grasping for the knowledge she knew she had, and when she opened them again she looked down at the sign once more, this time with the ability to read it. "Saffron City Farmer's Market," it said. Evetwo tilted her head to one side. Farmer's market. What was farmer's market? She knew that term, that was a gathering where people who worked the land for a living could sell their wares.

There was a small commotion almost directly below her. Lying flat across the roof, Evetwo inched her way forward so she could peek over the edge. A boy of no more than ten or twelve had dropped a crate of apples and was down on his hands and knees trying to pick them up. Standing over him was a girl of fifteen or sixteen, her hands on her hips, yelling at him for his clumsiness. The child was stammering an apology, but the girl paid it no heed as she quite publicly humiliated the boy. Then, turning away in a huff, the girl picked up a small, slim device from the folding table next to her. "Sorry about that, Becky, but you won't believe what my idiot brother just did. Get your booth set up and head over here, and I'll tell you."

The soft growling didn't startle Evetwo as much as the realization that it was coming from her. Horrible, nasty, spiteful girl. Her tail switching back and forth irritably, the psychic examined the street below her intently. Still talking on her cell phone, the girl had completely left the small area that her brother was trying to set up, and Eve's eyes lit up momentarily before narrowing in perfect concentration.

Down on the street, the girl walked passed a fellow vendor with tables full of fruits. As she passed, a single orange rolled off of its pile, bumping its way down to the ground, and came to a stop directly beneath her foot. The teen wailed as she went down, expecting to crash on hard cement, but then the rest of the fruits gave way, and the hapless youth found herself sitting on a soggy mess of crushed oranges. Her cell phone, dropped in the fall, was one of those hinged flip devices that was so convenient to carry around. It was found fifteen feet away, broken in half. Enraged, the teen picked up the pieces of her useless phone and stormed off to the truck that her still-laughing little brother was unloading more apples from. The girl shut herself in the cab to fume, and Evetwo settled back from the edge of the roof, congratulating herself on a job well done.

"_That was petty._"

Eve sincerely hoped that Mewtwo did not have the same habit of casually reading other people's minds that Mew did, because at the sound of his voice she found that several rude thoughts came to mind quite on their own. Scooting backwards, she pushed herself to her feet. Now that she knew he was there, she could actually feel him standing off behind her. "_How long have you been standing there?_"

"_Long enough_." Mewtwo's tone was disapproving. She glanced back over her shoulder; he was looking towards the rapidly lightening eastern sky. "_Toying with humans like that is both petty and dangerous. If they suspect that that was not an accident, then they could come looking for us_." She said nothing. "_It is time we left for safer grounds. The sun will be up soon._" Eve ignored him, instead mulling over whether or not she wanted to steal a loaf of bread in the same manner that she'd moved the oranges. Behind her, Mewtwo was studying her with a contemplative look on his face. "_Perhaps it is the human in you that insists on being so stubborn_."

Her whole body tensed up without her meaning for it to. "_Excuse me_?"

"_Mew informed me of your unusual background once you fell asleep last night._" Eve mentally cursed the kitten. "_The sun will be up in less than half an hour. I am leaving now, with or without you._"

Grudgingly, Evetwo got up and followed him, promising herself that later, yes, she would go about tying that knot.

* * *

He did not trust her. It was as simple as that. 

Mewtwo did not need to look over his shoulder to know that the little female was following him. He could feel the currents her energy made in the air; he could sense the proximity of her body by the proximity of her mind. She kept a distance of at least ten feet between them at all times. Had she tried to close the gap, he himself would have widened it again. It felt safer that way.

He did not read her mind. He was not as invasive as that, and besides, she did well enough at expressing her emotions that he could guess what she was thinking anyway. Right now, her grip on her own feelings was weak, and so they swirled around her like an invisible cloud. Negative emotions, and they seemed to be directed at him. It sufficed to say that she was no more pleased with him than he was with her. Mewtwo allowed himself some small satisfaction at this. At least they were on the same page.

Observing her when she woke up and then again on the roof, he had noticed that the female wasn't quite as small as his first impression had granted. By human measurements, she stood close to, if not right at, six feet by his estimate. What made her seem so small was not her stature, but her build, and the uncertain way she carried herself.

He landed in the woods, and turned to watch her land. She seemed willing to stand closer to him than she flew. Mewtwo wondered if maybe she was still afraid of him, deep down. It would be so surprising. He had taken a full-out offensive against her not a full day past; she could not have just forgotten it overnight. She probably expected him to turn against her at any moment. The thought entertained him.

Once the little female had gone to sleep, Mew had pleaded with him to be kind to her. She was created from, and still remembered being, a human child, and deep down she was still nothing more than a little girl. If the immature sense of justice she'd just exhibited was any indication, Mew was right. Evetwo was just a child, and so he would treat her accordingly. He watched her check the tree where Mew had been, which was now empty, and then start rooting around through the bushes. "_What are you looking for?_"

"_Berries._" She pulled at a bright green vine, and then followed it to the bright red payload. "_You want any?_"

"_I have already eaten._" He knew she intended it as a friendly gesture, but the fact of the matter was, Mewtwo just wasn't hungry.

Mew chose that moment to arrive out of nowhere lugging a milk can. "Good morning! Oh, good, you're both still alive."

Evetwo's attention was immediately focused on the milk. "_You're gonna share that with me, right?_"

"I guess so." Mew sounded reluctant, but split the goods with the little female anyway. Mewtwo turned away, preferring to quietly observe the area around them. Behind him, Evetwo piped up again.

"_Hey, Mew? What'd he mean when he said you were different?_"

There was a sputtering sound behind him as Mew tried not to choke. Turning, he saw Eve reach over to pat their progenitor on the back. "Sorry," the feline gasped. "I just didn't expect you to as me that. What he meant was, when Mewtwo and I first met, I was male."

Evetwo stared at Mew doubtfully. "_Male_."

"Yeah." Mew stuck her nose back into the jug while Evetwo looked at 'her' with an expression that was so perplexed it was comical. The female's eyes were actually slightly crossed as she stared at Mew.

"_So you can just change genders? Like, whenever you want? And that's not supposed to be weird?_"

"Not weird at all." Mew's head had disappeared into the can. Evetwo stared at her a little longer, and then, with a curios, questioning look on her face, turned to stare at him. Their eyes met, and she tilted her head just a little, studying him. And then Mewtwo realized with a jolt just what she was thinking. His eyes narrowed.

"_No. Absolutely not._"

"_Pity_," she said, almost disappointed. "_It would be funny._"

* * *

There was too much to smell in this city to do any decent tracking, so Poochie just amused himself by watching the people go by. Buwaro-master had tried using the goggles to find the runaway Pokémon, but to their dismay psychics were everywhere in this town. The proximity of the Saffron Gym made the device useless. 

In other words, they had no way to actually find the psychic unless she did something on her own. Last night they seemed to have a chance- something had been fighting up near the top of the city. They'd found evidence of something impacting a roof at high speed, and also signs of a crash into a building. But then whatever had been going on had come to a complete halt before the two Rockets could go investigate. Poochie, of course, had been ready to go the whole time.

"Hey, think they'll let us put in a challenge at the gym?" Buwaro-master looked up at the large building. "Might be good training for when we take that thing on again."

"And risk a bunch of psychic lovers finding out what we're doing?"

"We don't have to tell them."

Ray-friend stared at Buwaro-master, and Poochie had to agree with him just a little when he said, "Bu, they're _psychics_."

Buwaro-master shrugged. "It'd still be good training. We have to do something in case that Eevee girl shows up again."

"If that Eevee girl shows up again, I suggest we run screaming."

"Right." Poochie sighed. Humans...

The little pup's head snapped up, nose quivering. That scent... he knew that scent... His head swiveled around. There, across the street, was that damn Persian! The small dog's hackles raised as he growled, getting his master's attention. Buwaro-master followed his glare. "Just a cat, boy. No way to tell if it's the same one."

But it was the same one. Poochie _knew_ it was the same one. The nose didn't lie. The Poochyena forced himself to settle down. His trainer patted his head and turned back to the hotdog he was piling condiments on. Poochie looked up at the man for a moment, feeling a pang of regret as to what he was about to do. Then he turned and silently ran after the Persian.

He followed it down the streets, through masses of people flocking in and out of shops, pursuing it almost relentlessly through the streets, until finally it turned into an alleyway. Poochie hesitated. As much as he didn't want to take on this thing without Buwaro-master, he knew that sooner or later it had to lead him to the psychic. Growling more to bolster his own courage than anything, the dark puppy headed into the alley just as a wild Pidgey soared out of it, swooping low over his head. Poochie ducked low, squeezing his eyes shut as the bird kicked up dust around him, and then looked around him. The Persian was gone. Head hanging low, Poochie gave up and started tracing back his steps to return to his trainer.

After a couple of blocks, the trail started getting weaker. Poochie persevered, diligently following his nose until he came to a particularly crowded intersection. There, amidst all the human and Pokémon smells, the poor puppy lost his own trail. He ran in circles, trying to pick up the scent again, but it was gone. He was lost in the middle of a strange city, and his trainer didn't even know where to look. So the puppy did what it was in his nature to do when separated from his pack; he threw back his head and let loose with one long howl. No one answered, although a few humans did stop to stare at him. He howled again...

"Are you lost, stranger?" Poochie turned. A pretty little Vulpix sat staring at him, her red head tilted to one side. Even in the dirty city streets, the vulpine's coat was sleek and shiny. She watched him intently, waiting for a reply. The puppy gulped and nodded, and the fox nodded her head thoughtfully. "Who are you looking for?"

"M-my trainer," the Poochyena stammered. "I was tracking something and lost him."

"And you couldn't track your way back?"

"I lost the trail," Poochie muttered, humiliated. The strange Vulpix leaned over and sniffed at him intently for a moment, causing the little dog to freeze up completely, before leaning down and touching her nose to the ground.

"All right, then," she said after a moment. "This way."

She was hard to follow through the crowded streets because she was so small. If it weren't for her brilliant red coat, Poochie was sure he would have lost the little fox, who was several inches shorter than any others of the breed he had ever encountered. But eventually she led him to a small, quiet street near a tiny, understated park that looked familiar. And there, sitting on a bench with his head in his hands, was his trainer. Vulpix nodded. "And I do believe that's your human. Take care next time you go chasing strange Persians, friend."

Poochie blinked, certain he hadn't actually mentioned the Persian, but when he turned to question Vulpix, he found she had disappeared. So he ran up to his trainer instead. Buwaro-master's head snapped up at his barking, and after the human gave the dog a good hug and a hearty scolding, the two headed off to find Ray-friend, who was getting another hotdog. Poochie sighed to himself. He hadn't been able to track the Persian and find the psychic for his master. But at least he'd tried, right?

* * *

Eevee was sitting watching Sea do her exercises when Mew showed up. Every day, the human went through a series of motions that were meant to make her stronger. She also ran frequently. Eevee watched her every day, occasionally trying to copy the motions, which made the human laugh. 

At first, Eevee didn't recognize the cat, disguised as she was as a fox. When the Vulpix flopped on her side next to Eevee and said, "She'll overthrow her father one day, you watch," the little puff almost panicked. But the fox just continued. "Of course, she could always just wait until her father dies naturally and disband Team Rocket when she inherits it, but she's not the kind to wait that long. Otherwise, she wouldn't be helping Evetwo, now, would she?"

Eevee relaxed. "You startled me."

"You work hard to keep her secret, don't you?"

The little brown puff nodded. "She's a good human. She doesn't deserve to be judged for her father's crimes."

Now Eevee and the humans were headed back to the city through the forest. The visit had been brief. Eevee nudged her frowning trainer. The cloned psychic had been distracted, nervous. Her eyes had darted around too much. It had been a very short goodbye.

Then, as they were walking away, Evetwo had reached out and caught Cheryl by the arm. There was a strained look in her eyes as she'd stared down at the human, and then, abruptly, she'd let go and nodded. "Go on, then," she'd said. "Take care of yourselves."

Eevee wondered what the clone had said to the human in those few brief moments. She had the strangest feeling that they weren't done with Evetwo just yet...

* * *

If Mew would just fall asleep, Evetwo could tie that knot. 

The clone eyed the blue berries hungrily. Orans were not supposed to be good for eating a lot of, but she'd already stripped the Cheri vines that morning, and she really wanted something to eat before leaving Saffron. Leppa berries were good, too, but she hadn't seen any of those since they left Johto. Mew promised there would be some in the Sevii islands, and many more berries that Eve hadn't seen before as well, and lots of flowers and trees and things to look out.

She wished the kitten would go with them. She just knew she was going to hate it otherwise.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic." Melodramatic. Eve scowled. The word Sea had used was neater, emo. Sea used a lot of words that were fun. "You know, you could curdle milk with a face like that."

"_I don't want to go with him._"

"It's better for you this way, I promise."

She looked over at the kitten balefully and finally said what had been weighing so heavily on her mind. "_You're abandoning me._"

Mew sank in the air. "I'm not abandoning you. I'm trying to give you a chance to survive." The kitten nosed at Eve's shoulder. "And him, too."

"_Him?_"

"Yeah. You'll give him something new to think about, you know." Mew came around to study Eve from the front. "He won't hurt you, Evetwo. Believe me, if either of you were going to die, you would have already."

Her tone was too straightforward. Eve stared. "_Tell me that's a joke._"

"Nope. The way I figured it was, if you both survived the first twelve hours, we'd be good."

"_Do you get some kind of amusement out of screwing around with people's lives like that?_"

The kitten just nudged her again. "It's all for the best. Just trust me, okay?" Eve nodded grudgingly. "Good girl."

Evetwo sighed and went back to contemplating the berries. This was going to suck...

* * *

Big shout out to Rizu Komesu today. Along with checking out Buwaro's Tales of Flame, which I REALLY hope you've all read by now, I recommend you all run and read her Hoenn Chronicles. Just... listen to the insane international network, okay? We have plans... Please review, I feed off of good reviews, you know. They give me back the energy my characters steal from me. Oi... 


	9. Adjusting

Well, I pulled off another one. I got maybe six hours of sleep because I worked past midnight to do this and then got up too early to finish it. And then I find out that one of my partners is being lazy. Makes Aerie sad, that does... Anyway, I stuck with two view points for this chapter, including the one character that gives me a headache beyond all others because he thinks too much! Writing an introspective, analitical, thoughtful character is hard when you are none of those things yourself!

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_Sometimes, the people in the world who bother us the most are the ones that we're supposed get along with the best. Everyone thinks you'll do just fine, and then you clash completely. There's no logic to it, no rhyme or reason. Some people just don't get along. We all come across a few of these people in our lives, ones that we mix poorly again. If we're lucky, we can avoid them. If we're not, we can't. But oh, isn't it so much more fun to watch when people can't?_

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Traveling was boring. First of all, it was dark out, which just plain didn't make sense to Evetwo. She couldn't see anything! And then there was the fact that Mewtwo wasn't exactly eager to talk to her. She'd finally given up on making any sort of conversation after the first couple hours of flight. Eve sighed, looking down at the trees below them. They were awful high up. Maybe if Mew had come along it would be different, but she'd had to leave to 'take care of something' and disappeared before the sun was even set. Evetwo had sat and waited until dark, and then made her way towards the city only to be cut off about half way there. Mewtwo had been anxious to get moving and determined that she not go near the human settlement on her own, which spoiled all of her plans. She'd wanted something new to eat.

Her whole body wanted to just crash into the trees and get some sleep. Mewtwo had said that if they focused, they could reach the coast before dawn and Sevii the next night. Eve didn't know if she could focus that long. She needed her sleep. Up ahead, Mewtwo was looking back at her, and she realized she'd fallen behind him yet again. If he would just slow down a bit, that wouldn't be a problem. But no, he had to be in a big hurry all the time. Eve sighed to herself. This sucked, badly.

Mewtwo was waiting for her to catch up. When she did, he didn't turn his back to her and keep going like she expected him to, but instead looked her over critically. Finally, he nodded towards the trees. "_We will stop here for a while. There is a commotion up ahead, but it should pass soon._"

"_Commotion?_" Eve perked a little. Maybe it was something interesting.

"_Trainers_," Mewtwo said simply. He didn't seem to care for elaboration that much.

Eve moved a little higher up into the air, trying to see them. Now that she knew they were there, she could actually hear the sounds of battle somewhere in the trees below. "_Where are they?_"

Mewtwo glared up at her. "_Stay low or they will see you._"

She ignored him, rising a couple of feet higher. "_It's so late at night. Why would anyone be fighting now?_"

There was a tugging sensation throughout her body, and Eve found herself being yanked downwards. She screeched softly and, once her body was released from the psychic hold, spun on Mewtwo. "_Don't you ever do that to me again!_"

"_I told you to come down. You did not._"

She growled. "_Let's get one thing straight right now. You're not the boss of me. If I don't feel like doing what you tell me to, I won't. Understood?_"

"_Mew put you under my care for a reason._" Mewtwo's tone was even, and Eve found herself getting even angrier with him for it. "_Trainers are dangerous. If they see you, even if it is only for a moment, you can be sure that sooner or later they will probably talk about it. And then everyone will be after us._"

"_Then I'll just make sure they don't see me._" Eve turned to go back up, only to bump into something that she couldn't quite see. "_Hey! What gives!_"

"_It is not safe over there. We need to stay here for a while._"

Evetwo prodded at the air in front of her, annoyed. Solid? "_What kinda technique is this?_"

"_You have never seen a barrier before?_" Mewtwo's tone, even as he questioned her, was straightforward. Eve shook her head without looking at him, not bothering to dignify him with an actual answer. Pressing her hand to the invisible wall, she started to follow it, looking for some way around it. It curved inward and over her head, and she realized that it wasn't just blocking her path; she was trapped inside it. Below her, Mewtwo was watching her explorations with a critical eye. "_And what, exactly, did they teach you all of that time in the laboratory?_"

"_Um_..." There had to be a way through this stupid thing. "_Control, mostly. I didn't stick around long enough to learn much else_."

"_Then we have much work to do_."

Eve let herself drop to the ground. There was no way through the barrier, and really, she did want to rest for a while. She walked over to a tree and settled into a sitting position at the base of it, resolutely looking away from Mewtwo the whole time. She didn't like being locked in one place like this. It was the same as being back at the lab. She _would_ complain to Mew next time she had a chance.

She was just slipping into a comfortable doze when Mewtwo got her attention again. "_Come. It is time to go._" Frowning to herself, Evetwo rose to her feet and into the air to follow after him once more. The least he could have done was let her get some proper sleep...

* * *

Had he been traveling on his own, he would not have bothered stopping to avoid the trainers. They were not directly in his path, and he would have been able to get past them without being detected. Traveling with _her_, however, he felt he should be a bit more careful. After all, she had already tried to run away from their predecessor to satisfy her own curiosity back in Saffron City. She obviously had no sense of secrecy. Still, he had not expected her to be so insistent that he would have to hold her back with a barrier. Her sheer stubbornness was already proving to be more of an obstacle than he had thought it would be. 

She was falling behind again. Mewtwo slowed, giving the little female a chance to catch up. She was visibly annoyed, probably because of the way he had held her back. He recalled the way she had examined the barrier, how painfully obvious it had been that this was something new to her. Her only defense seemed to be to flee or to go on the offensive. Her offense was mediocre at best.

He glanced over his shoulder just in time to catch her looking at him. Their eyes met briefly, and then she looked away.

He would start with simple barriers, teaching her to first block attacks and then to bounce them back. Her shadow ball could also use work, he recalled. He would be surprised if there was anything she _did_ know that did _not_ need work.

When they had first taken off, the little female had tried to engage him in conversation, but now she was mercifully silent. Something else that he could not help noticing was how _noisy_ she was. Her myriad moods were reflected in the sounds she made. She growled to herself when she was annoyed, squeaked and squealed when startled, and, according to Mew, made a high keening noise when pleased. He had yet to hear that one for himself, though. He doubted he would any time soon.

He sped up a bit. There were only a few hours of darkness left, and they had not made it quite so far as he had hoped to. If they hurried, they might still make the coast by daybreak, but it did not look promising. Finally, he had to accept that they would not meet his schedule and find a safe place to spend the daylight hours. He coasted low over the trees, and finally spotted a dense, overgrown area of forest with a clear area just big enough for his charge to sleep in. "_Evetwo_."

She sped up just a little, until they were almost side by side, still stubbornly refusing to speak to him. He inclined his head towards the tiny clearing. "_It is almost day. We will stop there to rest, and continue in the evening._"

They landed together, and Mewtwo looked over just in time to see her trying to fight off a yawn. He watched her forage for berries for a while as he settled against a tree to meditate. He never slept out in the open. He could rest his mind and body just as well through meditation as he could through sleeping, without having to drop his guard. Sleep was reserved for a more secure environment.

Across from him, the little female had finished eating and was curling up on the ground to rest. She had not tried to offer him anything this time. He watched as she curled into a ball with her head resting on her arms and her tail brushing across the tip of her nose. Her posturing was defensive; she kept her chest and stomach hidden, and her tail protected her face. He wondered vaguely what she had had to endure to become so defensive when she slept, but completely unable to protect herself when she was awake.

She was watching him intently over the tip of her tail. For the second time that night, their eyes locked. He could see the slightest hesitancy in her gaze, as thought she was not quite sure if she should trust him while she rested. There was an edge of fear in her eyes, but finally she closed them and went to sleep. Only then, when he was certain she was asleep, did he focus on clearing his own mind in meditation.

The sun had been up for several hours, the morning long passed into afternoon, when the shifting started. Mewtwo opened his eyes to see his charge moving restlessly in her sleep. Her brow was creased and she made soft, uncomfortable noises. He stood and watched her silently, waiting until the nightmare subsided and she was calm again. He would not wake her from her dreams; it was the surest way to make her remember them so that they could torment her later. Better to let her sleep through them. Finally she seemed to settle a bit, and he went about finding something to eat while she still slept. Then he returned to the small clearing and stood against the tree again, waiting for her to wake up. He wanted to leave this place as soon as the sun set.

* * *

Mewtwo was watching her when she woke up. For a minute, Eve just let herself lie there watching him right back, and then she sat up and stretched her arms, deliberately taking her time. It occurred to her after a moment that Mewtwo was standing in the exact same place he had been the night before. Had he even moved? She stared at him, and then downwards as her stomach complained rather loudly. "_Ah... need food_." 

"_There are apples over there_." Mewtwo inclined his head slightly towards the trees. Eve scrambled to her feet. Apples were something she remembered, something she knew she liked. She headed out into the trees and soon found the desired fruit, eating her fill before making her way back to the little clearing, where they waited until darkness fell. She kept herself amused during the twilight hours by sorting what memories she had regained, trying to decide what fit where in the course of her old life. She hadn't told Cheryl or Yota that she still had those memories. Maybe if they found her in the islands she would tell them then.

They took off as soon as the sun had set. Within a couple of hours, Evetwo started to feel a cold breeze. Soon after that, she became aware of the smell of saltwater. Finally they landed on a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean. "_Are the Sevii out there?_"

"_They are_." Mewtwo nodded his head slightly. "_From here to the islands, there is only ocean. It is a long way to travel in one night. There will be nowhere for us to stop if you tire._"

"_I won't tire_," she said firmly. Even if she did get tired, she certainly wasn't going to let him know.

Mewtwo just nodded again before taking off. "_This way_."

It was almost morning when they reached the chain of islands that composed the Sevii. Looking down, Evetwo saw several large islands, big enough for villages and towns, as well as many tiny islands that were hardly more than rocks shooting up out of the sea with the occasional group of trees on them. It was on one of these tiny islands that they landed. Eve looked around her carefully. The piece of land was maybe fifty feet across at it's widest. It rose out of the water sharply, the surface of the island some twenty feet above sea level. One side was all steep cliffs plunging into black waters; the other side had a steep path down to a slim beach covered in jagged rocks. Judging from the level of the sea plants growing on the cliff face, this beach became completely submerged when the tide came in.

On the easternmost end of the island was a thick grove of trees. She could see different fruits growing on a few of them, ones that she couldn't place. The other end of the island was clear save for a rocky outcropping jutting up from the ground. It was to this outcropping that Mewtwo led her, and Eve saw, once she was closer, a fissure in the rocks just large enough to walk through. The face of the rocks projected out over the fissure, ensuring that it couldn't be seen from the air, and the crevice faced inwards towards the trees, so that it couldn't be seen from the sea, either. It seemed awful convenient to her.

She followed Mewtwo into the fissure and was surprised to find a set of stairs leading downwards. Down under the surface of the island was a large chamber hewn into the stone. Around the room, up near the ceiling, were niches carved into the rock that let in the moonlight from outside. The room spread wide beneath the ground, and looking around, she saw the darkened entries to three more chambers. The whole thing seemed so strange and out of place. As she stood there, Mewtwo nodded his head towards one of the off-shooting chambers. "_You may sleep in there. That room will be your own_." Eve nodded in reply, and went to explore the small chamber. She had a dreamless sleep that night.

There was, she quickly learned, a pattern to living on the island. The earliest hours of the morning, and from there into the early afternoon, were for sleep. She would wake up while the sun was still high, and that time was for eating. The spicy Cheris she liked grew in abundance, as well as a few apple trees, and one large, sweet berry she didn't know the name for yet but liked very much. After eating, it was time for learning. Mewtwo was a demanding teacher, and there were times when his patience with her seemed to run thin, but gradually she started to understand what she was supposed to be learning, and the instances of him becoming snappish at her lessened.

And then, when night had fallen and his patience reached an end, and it always did sooner or later, Mewtwo would take her to explore the surrounding islands. That was always Eve's favorite part of the evening. The islands closest to their own little one were home to wild Pokémon, but if they went further, they could find a human town on the next chunk of land. The first night, she had managed to slip away from him to peek inside the windows of a darkened house. Nobody was home, so she went from window to window, looking in and silently naming the things she saw. Around the back of the house, she actually found an open window upstairs, and stepped inside to take a look. It was a bedroom, a fancy, frilly, girlish one. She started poking around a bit and found an ornate silver brush and mirror on the dresser, which she tried out. She hadn't actually intended to steal the pretty set, it just sort of happened on it's own when she heard the door downstairs open. She froze for a moment, listening, and then turned and flew back out the window at the sounds of voices, and she didn't realize until that she was still holding the brush and mirror until she was safe in the forest again. There was no way to safely return them, so she just took them back with her. Mewtwo had given her a lecture for that, and for the down comforter she had found on someone's clothesline the next night that had just looked too soft and comfy. He told her that taking things from humans was the same as admitting dependency on them. Eve told him to take it up with Mew, who had set a very bad example in the first place by constantly stealing food. He was not amused, even though her point was, at least in her mind, perfectly legitimate.

When she wasn't filching things from the human town, Evetwo amused herself by exploring the islands closest to her new home. The nearest island to theirs was home to a colony of Seels, and one old, wise Dewgong. They were very wary of her, and she didn't spend much time there except to watch them fish. She tried it herself one night, and while she had no luck actually catching anything, she did discover that she rather liked swimming. She also liked watching the Pidgey on another neighboring island. It passed the time. And her routine was set.

They'd been on the island for about a week now. Evetwo was trying not to be distracted by a Fearow that had, for whatever reason, decided to land on their island. Mewtwo was starting to get snappish with her and it wasn't even dark yet. She couldn't help it; it was the first other Pokémon that had gotten that close to them on it's own, and Eve wanted to see if it would talk to her. Mewtwo was just telling her to focus for about the millionth time when he froze up. Confused, Eve turned to look at him. He had the strangest vacant look on her face, and she wondered if she should try throwing something at him. After all, she might never get a chance like this again. But before she could find a suitable rock or something, Mewtwo snapped out of it and looked over at her.

"_I have to leave for a while._"

It wasn't what she expected. "_Leave... as in go away?_"

Mewtwo nodded. "_I expect you to stay here while I am gone_."

"_How long will you be away?_"

"_I do not know. It will probably be for several days_."

Evetwo nodded, trying to look as meek and obedient as she could. Once he was gone, however, a slow grin spread across her face. Several days by herself, huh?

This was going to be fun...

* * *

I cannot wait to start on the next chapter... 


	10. Taking a Vacation

Well, here I go with chapter ten. You know, I've never had a story get this far before. It feels pretty good! Now, this is very important, so don't skip to the story just yet. As of the end of this chapter, Anomaly crosses over with Buwaro's Tales of Flame! It's not completely absolutely life-dependant necessary that you read both stories, but damn it! You should anyway! Otherwise, you miss half the fun!

_

* * *

_

_It's never a healthy thing to bottle up one's emotions. When anger and rage grow to deep, they can explode outward and tear apart the people and things around us. One good way to vent these frustrations is to take a break and indulge oneself. The relief of stress can ease the pressure on the emotional dam just a bit. But the best way to cut yourself some slack is always, always to talk to someone. Above all else, releasing your fears to someone else's ears is the best way to heal. So isn't it just right that we should also take the time to listen to the problems of others?_

_

* * *

_

The first thing Evetwo did was wait for darkness to fall and go to the human town. She stuck to the secrecy of the trees and tall grass for a while before approaching a darkened house on the edge of town. A quick psychic check told her that no one was home, and she quietly let herself in through a door that conveniently unlocked itself. Deep down, she knew breaking and entering was wrong, but what harm could it do to just look around? She allowed herself a moment for her eyes to adjust, and then looked around her. A family lived here, one with small children, and she almost stepped on a stuffed toy that had been left on the floor. She stared down at it for a moment before heading farther into the house. If it weren't for the scattered toys, the place would have been immaculate.

There were framed photographs hanging on one of the walls of the... living room, that was what it was called. She glanced at them briefly; they all had the same smiling, happy family, cased in soft wood under hard, cold glass. Eve turned away from the smiling faces and moved on to the next room. Kitchen. She remembered kitchen. Kitchen was where the family gathered on holidays to talk and laugh and cook. Kitchen was warm and friendly, with hand-drawn pictures hanging from the... refrigerator... on colorful, oh, what where they called, magnets? She looked around and sure enough, there was the appliance, humming softly, with the children's artwork papering the lower half, easily in reach of tiny arms. Eve walked over and pulled open the door, silently remembering the names of all the foods. There was a carton of milk in the door, and she noted rather sourly that Mew had not come to see her at all yet, even though she had promised she would.

She took the carton with her as she explored the rest of the house. The next room was called study, or maybe library. It had walls full of books, and a... computer? on a desk. There were no toys in this room, but there were pieces of art here and there; it was a place for adults. Evetwo walked over to examine the books on the wall. Up high there were books on philosophy and science and business, but down lower, again where little arms could reach them under close supervision, were children's picture books and fairy tale stories and lots and lots of books about Pokémon. She picked one up and shuffled through it for a moment before replacing it and turning to find something that might be interesting to read. As she moved, she felt her tail bump something, and there was a resounding crash behind her.

Oops.

Evetwo turned around to examine the source of the noise. There was a wobbling pedestal behind her, and the remains of what must have been a costly vase on the floor. She kicked at the remains with her feet. Well, there was no hope of salvaging _that_. Frowning, Eve pulled out a book that looked promising and moved out of the library. It was a dangerous place to have a tail.

There was a large wooden staircase next. Making her way up to the second floor, Eve looked resolutely ahead of her so she wouldn't have to see the photographs lining the walls here, too. There were more rooms upstairs, three bedrooms and a... bathroom. The bathroom wasn't of much interest, so she looked around in the bedrooms first. There was one with two small beds and many more toys, and one with lots of books on the shelves and a few plush Pokémon dolls. The second room had something of use and interest in it- a bright red bag. Eve picked up the 'backpack' and shook the contents out of it before putting her milk carton and book inside. Very handy, she decided as she moved into the largest bedroom. There was a large quilt on the bed, and she ran a hand over it contemplatively. It was soft, and it would make a good addition to her den back in the cave. Eve pulled it off the bed and made her way downstairs with the bulky load, accidentally knocking a photo off of the walls in the process. She glanced back at it for a moment, and then kept going. Better to just get out of this house while she had a chance.

Once safely under cover outside, Evetwo stopped for a moment to look back at the house she had 'explored' one last time. It looked peaceful; no one would know she had been in there until they got inside. The family would be a bit distressed, but eventually they'd go back to their lives and forget about the mysterious break-in. Lucky bastards...

Scowling to herself, Eve headed back to the island. Maybe a nice swim would make her feel better.

* * *

For six full moons now, Dewgong had kept an eye on the first of the stranglings. It had appeared in the middle of the night on an island that was little more than a hunk of rock reaching up out of the water, and the Seels had wondered how it intended to live in such a barren habitat. But by morning, the rocks had transformed into a lush, livable island. That was the first clue that there was something a little bit unusual about this Pokémon that none of them had ever seen before, and they watched the island constantly to see what it would do. The strangling, for it's part, kept to itself. It never tried to talk to any of the Pokémon that lived on the surrounding islands. It left its island only at night. Usually it would come back before morning, but sometimes it stayed gone for days at a time. It was always, always alone. 

At first, the strangling had alarmed the Seels. What manner of creature was this, that it sought such solitude? Dewgong understood, of course, that some Pokémon liked to be alone, but for the naïve little Seels, so fond of company, this new thing was a mystery. One day one of the pups, overwhelmed by his own curiosity, got too close to the new island, to the new Pokémon, and the creature had looked down at him with such malice that the poor pup had had nightmares for days afterwards. Going near the creature or it's island brought on the same wrathful gaze every time, and yet sometimes, when Dewgong could get close enough, she'd see it looking wistfully up at the moon and wonder if maybe, just maybe it didn't really want to be alone after all. But it would not be approached, and finally the Seels gave up and kept their distance.

And then, quite suddenly, there were two.

The appearance of the second strangling caused even more alarm than the first. How many of these things were there? Many of the Seels thought it best to find another island, in case still more of them came, but Dewgong pointed out quite firmly that the first of the two had never actually harmed them, so why should the second? Finally, at the insistence of several of her offspring, a compromise was reached. They would wait one full moon and see what the stranglings did before making a decision as to what to do about them. And in the meantime, Dewgong would keep watch.

And so she did. She kept watch as the larger taught the smaller every day at twilight. Day after day for several, they would go over the same things, and Dewgong realized that the new addition was little more than a pup, and a very mischievous pup at that, when it started coming back to the island with things taken from humans. It was a curious little pup, too. One day, heading back to its home, the young strangling stopped above the water just off of the Seels island, and watched them. It watched as the older Seels fished and the younger ones played on the slides of ice that they made with their ice beams. As it watched, its face took on the same look of longing that she'd seen on the other so often. Dewgong was about to approach the young one when it turned sharply in the air. The larger, older of the two had appeared, and was looking down on the little one from higher in the air with contempt in its violet eyes. The little one looked back at them one last time before going on back to its own home.

The very next day, skirting around the stranglings' island, Dewgong saw the little one trying to fish. It darted about under water, swimming after a Magikarp, only to have to swim back to the surface for air after a couple of minutes. Finally, the fish seemed to become aware that it was being chased, or maybe it just wanted a change of scenery, because it darted off faster than the strangling could catch it. The little strangling watched it leave before letting itself bob back to the surface and just float there, an inept fisher, but content nonetheless as the waves rocked it back and forth. The spectacle was amusing, and Dewgong decided that if she ever got a chance, she would talk to the strangling pup. Now was not the time, however, because high on the rocks, the older stood watching the younger play in the water. Dewgong headed for home.

Her chance came a few nights later when the first one left, leaving the pup by itself. Night fell, and the little one journeyed away from its island alone. Several hours later, it came back laden down with things it had undoubtedly taken from the humans, and Dewgong set out after it. There were several hours of darkness left, and it might decide to swim tonight.

Sure enough, the strange pup came down to the water soon after it had landed. Dewgong watched, amused, as it tested the water with one foot before jumping in with it's full body. It came up gasping for air and shaking from what must have been an icy shock to one who's body was intended for land. Chucking to herself, Dewgong swam up towards the strangling from the side. "Hello, little one."

The strange Pokémon spun around, wide-eyed. It was larger than Dewgong, but in the water that hardly mattered- the seal knew she had the advantage if it came to making a quick getaway. Fortunately, it didn't seem as though it was going to come to that, because after a long, silent moment, the Pokémon nodded its head. "_Hello_."

The Seels had suspected psychic, had been next to certain, in fact, but Dewgong was still just a little bit taken aback by the boldness of the telepathy. Nonetheless, she nodded in reply, taking a moment to examine the strangling up close for the first time. It had soft features and a delicate voice. It was a girl. "You're alone today, little one. How come?"

There was a soft grumbling, as though the creature didn't realize she was speaking telepathically when she said, "_I'm not little_," and then, louder, "_I just am, I guess. I don't really know._"

"You friend didn't give you a reason for leaving?" Dewgong was more than a little surprised. Had the first really left with no explanation, even as often as it stood watch over this little one?

The strangling shook her head. "_He didn't, and he's not my friend, either_."

Dewgong smiled gently. "You sound lonely, when you say it like that." The psychic looked startled, and Dewgong continued. "I see you watching the pups from time to time. You should come visiting tomorrow."

"_Maybe..._"

Dewgong turned to go, and then looked back. "What are you called, little one?"

The strangling looked uncomfortable. "_They call me Evetwo... or just Eve for short..._"

A human name. How interesting.

* * *

She wanted to visit the Seels, she really did. Eve curled up in her nice soft bed, but sleep wouldn't come. Finally, she got up and went outside. Grabbing a few large apples, she climbed to the top of the rocks and sat watching the sunrise. She needed to weigh her options carefully. It wouldn't be nice to put the cute little Seels in danger because she got lonely. After all, she had to be somewhat responsible, right? 

Eve still wasn't sure what to expect as she approached the little island where the Seels lived. Deep down, she was pretty grateful when Dewgong swam out to meet her as she hovered above the water. The older, larger Seels were wary and slightly suspicious, but the younger ones were friendly. She watched them as they slid into the water on beds of ice, talking quietly to Dewgong the whole time. The old seal told her about the Sevii, how many islands there were, how many were safe and how many housed humans, and what kind of Pokémon lived on and around them. She didn't ask any questions that the clone didn't want to answer, and was patient when Eve got distracted watching the babies. She made Eve comfortable, and soon the psychic found herself telling the old seal things that she knew she really shouldn't. She told her about being born in a lab, about the people who were kind to her and the people who tormented her, about the strain of dealing with the only other one of her own kind. She couldn't say everything she wanted to, certain things just had to be left out, but just telling someone about _some_ of it made her feel better.

As the sun grew higher in the sky, Eve noticed one little Seel watching her with interest. Dewgong noticed as well, and called the baby over. His eyes were wide. "Are you really from the mainlands?"

"_I suppose I am_," Eve told the youth, "_But I don't know much about them_."

"Oh. That's cause you're just a kid like me, huh?"

"_I'm not, either!"_ Evetwo couldn't quite hold back an indignant squeak. Why did everyone insist on thinking of her as a child?

The Seel just laughed. "You should come make ice slides with us! It's a lot of fun!"

"_I don't know how._"

"I'll teach you," the little seal offered, clapping his flippers excitedly. "It's more fun than listening to Grams yammer all day!"

"_Well_..." Eve glanced at the Dewgong, who just nodded. "_Okay, then_."

Learning ice type moves proved to be difficult. After a whole afternoon of trying, trying again, and then finally taking a few discreet peeks into the Seels mind to figure out just what she was supposed to be doing in the first place, Eve managed to produce a thin stream of ice before the technique gave out. She comforted herself with the knowledge that it was probably more than Mewtwo knew how to do, and besides, she could only get better at it. And besides, now she had something she could claim she had worked on _so hard_ instead of going to the human island. It wouldn't be a complete lie, and to the best of her knowledge he didn't read minds the way Mew did to catch her. Unless he had just been not telling her things, in which case he was a jerk...

At first she considered napping for a few hours before heading to the human island, but the longer she waited, the less likely she was to find any safe houses to explore, so Eve took off soon after the sun set with her new backpack. All of the houses on the edge of town had some form of occupant, human or Pokémon, and she realized rather disappointedly that word of the previous night's break in must have spread. She was about to give up when it occurred to her that if everyone was at home, who would be in the actual town to see her if she would decide to explore there?

As it turned out, town was not as empty as she had hoped. There were a few general stores on the island, and apparently a ship had come in or something, because they were all unloading freight to stock their shelves. Perched on a grocery store roof, Evetwo watched as boxes were unloaded from trucks that pulled in from the docks with the goods. Every so often they would open a box to inspect the contents, and then Eve would peer over the edge with greater interest to see what was inside. At one point, she actually managed to filch a few bottles of soda pop when the workers had their backs turned, and then later a whole small box of candy bars joined the soda in the bright red backpack. She was attempting to 'liberate' some canned fruits when her focus wavered, and the cans ended up scattered all over the place behind the store. Eve watched with a tired interest as the busy working men stopped to pick up the cans, a few of them trying to place the blame on one another, before deciding that it was about time to go home and get some sleep. Otherwise, she really would get caught!

The next morning, Eve had planned to indulge herself by staying in her nice little nest of blankets the whole afternoon. Unfortunately, around mid-morning, that plan came to a screeching halt when someone just had to show up earlier than she'd figured. Eve stayed huddled in her blankets glaring silently at Mewtwo as he looked around at her new acquisitions. Finally, he sort of shook his head_. "What manner of idiocy have you been into this time?_"

"_Go away..._" This was too cruel to have to wake up to first thing. Eve tucked herself deeper into her blankets, peeking out at him from her warm cocoon.

Mewtwo said nothing at first, instead studying the candy wrapper at his feet silently. Then, finally, he turned away_. "I have to sleep now. Stay out of trouble_."

Evetwo stuck her tongue out at his retreating back.

All that day, she sat and practiced her new ice technique. She didn't want to risk leaving the island and getting the lecture she knew was to come added on to. So instead, she flicked small rocks out into the water, and practiced hitting them before they landed. She also talked to Dewgong, and to the little Seel that came by with Dewgong to say hello. It felt good having a couple of friends.

The second day, Mewtwo came out of his room, and sure enough he had a lecture ready. Evetwo sat and listened to him only half-heartedly. Finally, he seemed to give up on actually making her listen and stormed out of her room angrily. Maybe the fact that she had picked up her book and started reading had something to do with it.

The third day, training started again. Eve resisted the urge to throw an ice beam into Mewtwo's face when he commented on her weak shadow ball. It would be smarter to save that for when his back was turned. Mew turned up that night with a jug of milk and an appology for being away for so long. Eve gave her the silent treatment for a few hours before finally giving in. At least Mew appologized for being away.

The fourth day, Eve woke up rather depressed early in the day. They hadn't left the island at all since Mewtwo got back, and he'd put up another stupid barrier when she tried to go on her own. She sat up and looked around her little room for a while, toying with the idea of just having a chocolate bar for breakfast, before getting up to go out to pick some fruit. Standing in the opening to the caves, her whole body froze up at the sound of unfamiliar voices outside. Two Pokémon were on her island that didn't belong!

* * *

And here we go! The first network crossover starts now! This is gonna be fun! 


	11. Why Fire is Bad

Okay, folks, this is... gasp... a short chapter! The next several chapters are going to end up like this, only topping out at just over a thousand words each, but they're also going to come fast! And for those of you who still don't know what's going on... You can just sit there and not know what's going on for a while. Because apparently you never listened in the first place. Oi!

* * *

Cautiously, Eve crept out of the cave and towards the voices. Two small Pokémon were on her island, eating her berries... well, one of them was... and she just knew they didn't belong. One of them was an obvious fire breed, Charmander, she thought was the name for it, and the other was some kind of bright green lizard. A glance around the island told her that there were only the two Pokémon present. There were no water types or flying types that could have brought them, no human trainer streching his or her boundaries. Just the two Pokèmon that didn't belong. On her island.

Growling softly, she held her hands in front of her to form a small shadow ball. Mewtwo still called the technique pathetic, but at the very least, she could drive the strange Pokèmon to leave the way they came if she placed her shots right. Eve fired on the green one, barely missing, before trying to take out the Charmander. It dodged, yelling something she thought was probably pretty rude, and launched a ball of flames at her. Eve squeaked and threw up a barrier, blinking as it held. Well, that technique had certainly improved since yesterday. Then again, these things couldn't be anywhere near as strong as her normal training opponent. Maybe she was a bit stronger than she thought, and Mewtwo was just a jerk for letting her think otherwise. As the flames crashed around the psychic impediment, she could hear the Charmander on the other side. "I really am starting to hate psychic types."

She grinned in spite of herself. "_Then you're really going to hate me,_" she muttered.

Through her hazy barrier, she could see the Charmander emiting some sort of smoke from it's nose. Eve scowled as the black wall obscured her vision. Now how was she going to nab the little lizards? Scowling, the clone let her energy build for a moment before releasing it as a shockwave. If she couldn't pinpoint them, then she'd have to go for a sweep of the whole area. The shockwave, she was happy to note, also blew the smoke away, revealing two stunned little Pokèmon. Eve managed to follow up the shockwave with an ice beam while the two were dissoriented. To Eve's surprise, it hit the green one and froze him in place. One down, one to go. And then another fireball passed right by her head. Startled, she threw up her barrier just as a whole slew of the damn things erupted around here. Was all of that really coming from one little Charmander? It couldn't even see her through the dust they were kicking up, and it was still coming at her! Eve grunted as the firestorm finally seemed to die down.

There was an almost boastful shout from the other side of the trees. "Never, ever ruin a Charmander's lunch!" And then came the largest burst of fire yet, and Eve felt the barrier around her cracking. Something had happened between the last volley of flames and this one to give it an almost unatural strength. Looking around her, Evetwo could actually see her barrier starting to give way. Hell no! She was not going down to a little imp like this, she'd never hear the end of it! Growling, she held her hands together for another shadow ball. If her defenses broke, then she was going on the offense! Finally, her barrier cracked at about the same time as the flames died down, and she shot the shadow ball straight into the middle of the waning blast. Eat that, stupid reptile!

Eve growled as the damn Charmander evaded the attack that she shot through the flames, and the second, smaller one she managed to send off right afterwords. Eve growled. It was trying to fake her out now, so she cut it off with an ice beam and noted that ice doesn't work well against fire breathers. She closed her eyes against the steam and gathered her energy for another shockwave. It surprised her that she still had the energy to keep going; all the training she'd been doing must actually be working. Eve allowed herself a small smile. "_Come and get me, firebug. I'm ready..._."

The shockwave knocked the Charmander back, only for it to get up and launch another blast of the hyper fire. Eve watched it coming for half a second, weighing her options. The last barrier had broken, and she didn't know if she could get another one up in time, so instead she dodged it, shooting upwards into the air. She screeched slightly as her tail didn't quite make it out of the way in time and was burned in the blast. Taking half a second to check the injured appendage, she saw that the fur was singed and that it was a lot redder than it was supposed to be. It also stung worse than any whip ever had. Ooh, that stupid lizard was going to pay for that!

Eve growled to herself as she launched another shadow ball at the Charmander. If that thing could attack her with a bunch of shots at once, then she could do the same to it! Once she was in the air, she certainly felt a lot more free to move, so it would be hard pressed to hit her. Just keep firing shots now, and keep moving, and there was no way the stupid thing was going to catch her off guard again!

Of course, that didn't mean the other one couldn't catch her off guard. Eve blinked as the ice she had trapped it with blocked off one of her attacks. The green lizard had gotten itself free and hurried over to join the Charmander. Damn it, now there were two of them to worry about again. Eve started to form another shadow ball... only nothing happened. She glanced down at her hands, starled, and tried again. Still nothing. She knew she still had the energy to pull this off, so what the hell was happening?

And then she felt a naggingly familiar pull on her body and screeched again as she was yanked, very forcefully, back to the ground. She landed hard on her back, enough so to knock the wind out of her. Her burnt tail struck a rock, and she had to fight back tears. Ooh, she was going to hurt Mewtwo for this once she figured out a way to get up off the ground! "_Damn it, let me go!_"

"_And let you continue to make a fool out of yourself?_" The larger clone sounded mildly disgusted. Eve glared at him from her prone state, and felt the telekinetic pull lessen enough for her to push herself into a sitting possition. "_You will wait right there... in that exact spot... while I go see just what it is you have been fighting._"

"_Not like you wouldn't have done the exact same thing_," she muttered as she watched him walk into the cover of the trees.


	12. Introductions

Well, so far most of you have figured out what's going on by now, and that makes me very happy. So enjoy the next chapter of the Tales/Anomaly crossover! Remember to read and review, 'cause Buwaro and I love praise!

* * *

Apparently, when Mewtwo said that she would wait in that exact spot, he meant it.Eve growled, struggling to move, but she couldn't get up any more than the sitting position that he'd left her in. What's more, she was sore all over from her unexpected introduction to the ground. In all, today was not shaping up to be a good day. Scowling, the clone resigned herself to the fact that it was better to just sit and wait this out. Pulling her tail around, she examined the damaged appendage carefully for a moment before trying to use recover. The technique worked, but not completely. Evetwo sighed. It must have been a pretty bad burn. 

She glanced towards the trees again. Silence. What was taking Mewtwo so long? Eve shifted her weight, trying to get more comfortable, and then experimented with her shadow ball. It worked again, so she fired a shot into the trees irritably. She was still mad at him for stopping her just when she was getting the upper hand. She kind of hoped the shadow ball would hit him. Maybe then he'd remember to come get her, or at least let her get up on her own again. The jerk. Eve huffed slightly. She really needed to learn to use telekinesis the way Mewtwo did...

Evetwo waited a couple of minutes, but she was still stuck in place. What the hell was going on in there? It couldn't possibly take him that long to handle these things, could it? She slapped her tail against the ground, annoyed, and then winced. That had hurt. That had hurt badly. She fired another shadow ball into the trees to take her mind off of the pain. Maybe Mewtwo hadn't seen the first one, and thus didn't get the hint. Not likely, but it still made her feel better to try.

It seemed to have worked, because after a moment's wait, Mewtwo finally came back. She glared up at him. "_Finally! I thought I was going to have to keep firing all day before you remembered to come get me!_"

"_I was well aware that you were still here_." He sounded annoyed. Shoot. Had she actually hit him or something? And yet she could not keep quiet.

"_Yeah, I know you were! Let me up already!_" Mewtwo stared down at her, and Eve noticed the Charmander and the lizard coming out of the woods behind him. "_Hey, what gives? I thought you were going to make them go away!_"

The fire lizard's eyes immediately moved to her tail. "Sorry, but you can't get rid of us that easily. It even stumped doom and gloom here." Eve had to surpress a laugh as he nodded at Mewtwo. "You know, if you had just told us where we were then I wouldn't have had to burn you."

Eve winced. Damn it... "_Who are you, anyway?_"

"Flame, and our unconsious friend here is Fervo. I didn't know Mewtwo had a roommate, although that would explain who Mew meant by 'other case'"

Other... case? Eve's eyes widened. "_Oh, geez! You're the orange hothead she told me about, aren't you!"_

"Well, let me see. I am orange, again, and I am known for being a little headstrong. Yep, that would be me," the Charmander laughed at her, and then stopped abruptly, looking confused. "She? Mew was a he."

"_Mew can change genders,_" Mewtwo noted. Eve swished her tail. She still couldn't stand up, and was about to mention it when the Charmander spoke again.

"Really? Does that mean that you-"

"_No._" It was the same abrupt tone Eve had gotten for the same question. It amused her that someone else ran along that line of thought.

"_I had the same thought. Shame isn't it? It would be funny._" Eve tapped her tail on the ground again, being careful not to agravate her burns this time. "_You know, I would like to be able to move some time today?_"

"_Personally, I think you are better off where you are_." Mewtwo had that damn condescending look and tone again.

"_Well, I don't! I want up and_-" Flame was scratching a long, jagged line on his face. Eve trailed off,and Flame looked up once he realized he was being watch.

"What?"

"_Where did you get that?_" Eve stared probably more than she should have. It was a wicked looking scar.

"Arbok tooth. Any deeper and I'd be dead. Anyway, you still haven't told me your name, miss 'stubborn and stupid." Eve blinked, and then glared at the little lizard. He did not just call her that. Flame seemed to realize his mistake, and spoke fast. "Mew said that. I'm just landing him... her... it in it."

"_She called me stupid?"_ The Charmander nodded sheepishly. "_Ooh, I knew I should have tied a knot in her tail when I had the chance! I get so sick of being treated like a kid all the time!_"

"_Then stop acting like one_," Mewtwo suggested. Eve glared at him.

"_Maybe if you'd give me half a chance, you'd realize I don't! Let me get up!_"

"_I let you go the last time you asked_._ It is your own fault that you did not notice._"

Eve blinked, and then tried standing. "_Oh_..." She frowned slightly, and then nodded at Flame and Fervo. Might as well get it over with now. "_I... I'm sorry I attacked you. I just wanted to drive you off of the island. I reacted poorly.._."

Flame just grinned, and Eve felt relieved. "No worries, I'm used to being attacked without warning. Why else do you think I managed to react so fast? And you still haven't told me your name. I need to know who I am going to be stuck with for a while."

"Bloop." Eve was cut off from answering by the rather out of it green lizard flopping over. There was a soft crack as his head hit something hard. The Charmander started cracking up, and Eve could resist- she laughed a bit, too. Mewtwo looked over at her, startled, but she ignored him.

"_They call me Evetwo, or just Eve for short. I like that better anyway."_

"Well, Eve," Flame said, "can I go get something to eat without you trying to blow my head off now?" Eve winced. She had just appologized for that, hadn't she?

The green lizard interrupted again, pushing himself off of the ground. "My head hurts."

"Well about bloody time, now you can get some food down you so your stomach will shut the hell up." Oh, that's right. They'd been trying to eat lunch when she attacked them, hadn't they? Well, that gave her one opportinuty to make up for things.

"_I have some chocolate bars hidden away. I can share, if you want_."


	13. Emotion Storms

Okay, okay, I have the chapter! Thanksgiving was a ball, thank you for asking. Two days in the kitchen for a half an hour of eating. I'm very glad to be back at my computer, but I'm also enjoying spending time with my relatives. Especially my cousins, who will sit and play Pokemon with me. The youngest actually likes my talking Mew plush, which is a first for any member of my family. Everyone else hates it. They'd kill me if they found out I put the batteries back in... Well, enough chatter from me! Let's get this show on the road!

* * *

The chocolate produced far better results than Evetwo had ever expected. The two reptiles immediately began exclaiming over the treats, thanking her and giving her some rather ridiculous praise. They then began to fight over Fervo's remaining chocolate. Eve wasn't sure if she should step in or not. They _seemed_ to be playing, at least in as much as that there was no fire involved. Actually, just sitting in the shade watching them was kind of... fun.

So naturally, Mewtwo had to go and ruin it. She wasn't even aware that he'd left until he came back from a thorough examination of their little forest. She recognized the expression on his face and the way he crossed his arms as he stared down at the smaller Pokémon. It was the same look he always had when he thought she was doing something stupid, and was about to tell her so. Finally, Flame and Fervo seemed to notice as well, because they both stopped what they were doing to stare back. Mewtwo uncrossed his arms. "_When you two are done playing_," he began, and Eve winced. That tone sounded familiar. "_I have figured out why I cannot teleport you._"

"Do we really need to know the reason?" Fervo spoke up boldly. "That's like trying to find out how we actually stay alive. Time consuming and utterly pointless."

"_It may help us come up with a way to get you out of here before you destroy the place._" She could have sworn Mewtwo glanced in her direction when he said that, but the two lizards seemed oblivious. Then again, they didn't know him well enough to really have any idea as to what things as subtle as the changes in his tone or a small shift in his gaze could mean. The fact that she was already learning all of these things kind of freaked her out.

"Like you destroyed the base in Lavender? Nearly taking us out with it!" Flame was suddenly livid. Eve was about to ask what he meant when Mewtwo started talking again. He seemed oblivious to her at the moment, so she made herself oblivious to him as she tried to unwrap another chocolate bar without tearing the paper. If she remembered right, there was a way to fold paper into birds that she had known _back then_, and she wanted to see if she could still do it. The wrapper procured, she then tried to sit still and listen to what Mewtwo had to say. It proved to be a useless gesture. Even listening, Eve just didn't get what he was trying to tell them.

"_Will you stop that and pay attention?_" Mewtwo snapped suddenly. Eve glanced over and saw that Flame had been scratching his scar again. He seemed to do that a lot. _"I want you out of here as soon as possible._"

Flame was obviously a lot braver than she was. "Sorry, your highness," he retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "But you and I both know that I won't understand what the hell you are on about because, frankly, I couldn't give a damn."

Eve had expected the larger clone to get angry, but apparently he had more tolerance for others than he had for her. "_As I was saying, there is a large amount of leftover psychic power in the clearing where you had been before. It is possible, then, that you could have been teleported because of that radiation and the large amount of psychic power here could have caused you to end up here_."

"And this little theory helps us how?"

"_It means that you may have been, for lack of a better term, mutated. Seeing as you cannot be teleported, I believe that is likely. I need to learn the extent of the radiation's affects before I can work towards getting you out of here._"

Flame stared at Mewtwo for a minute, and Eve could practically see the anger rising. Fervo reached over to grab for his friend, but Flame turned and boxed him in the face before he could make much progress. The green lizard yelped and covered his nose as Flame turned away, yelling an insult back over his shoulder as he went. Mewtwo shook his head. "_This could prove to be difficult._"

Eve took a chance to speak up. "_What was that all about?_"

"If I had to guess," Fervo told her, "I'd say he's still pretty mad about almost getting crushed back in Lavender when your friend there took that building down."

Flame had mentioned something like that, hadn't he? "_So, you guys have known each other for a pretty long time now?_"

Fervo stared at Eve in disbelief. "Lady, that was last week! Mew got caught by Team Rocket, and we had to bust him out!"

At first, she wasn't sure whether or not to believe the reptile. She looked over at Mewtwo questioningly, and felt the anger starting to build when he didn't deny it. She turned back to Fervo. "_Mew was in danger._"

He nodded. "Yep. Another day and we'd have been too late."

Eve turned and fixed Mewtwo with a level stare. "_And you just decided to keep it to yourself?_"

He actually had the nerve to look her straight in the eye. "_You would have been useless. There was nothing that it was within your ability to do for the situation_."

"_So you just didn't tell me!_"

"_There was no need to say anything after the fact._" He was talking to her as though speaking to a child again, which only made Eve angrier.

"_So instead, you sat here and let me be angry at Mew for not coming to see me!_" Eve rose to her feet, her tail lashing behind her. "_You let me be angry at Mew, when instead I could have tried to make her feel better!_"

"_There was nothing you could have done_," Mewtwo said firmly. "_You would not have been of any help to anyone_."

Suddenly, Flame's course of action seemed like a good idea. Eve turned and stalked off towards the cave before deciding that she really didn't want to corner herself and going around the rocks instead. She paused for one last look over her shoulder; her pride wouldn't let him have the last word, unconsciously mimicking his speech patterns in the process. "_Whether or not I am of any use is not something for you to just arbitrarily decide like that! I decide my own value!_"

She headed for the highest point of the island, where the rock jutted out over the water. The ocean was deep there, even in the lowest tides, and she dove in headfirst. The water washed over her body, and the rush of sensation was a cold comfort. Every time the ice waters closed over her, the shock would remind her that she was still alive, still fighting. She let herself drift for a moment just under the surface before breaking back up through the waves.

From up on the cliff, Fervo called down to her. "You okay?"

She hadn't expected him to come after her. Rising up out of the waters, she let herself hang in the air for a moment before flying back up to the cliff, still soaking wet. "_I'll be fine_."

"Do you always throw yourself off of cliffs when you get angry?"

"_Only when the weather is nice_."

"And I'd imagine it's always pretty nice out here."

"_Yeah_." Eve flopped down on the grass to let the sun dry her off. To her surprise, Fervo flopped down next to her.

"Want to talk about it?"

"_No_," she said, and then sighed. "_Yes. Fervo, am I really that weak?_"

"I certainly didn't think so when you were kicking our asses."

"_I said I was sorry for that!_" Eve shifted her tail. There was a rock right under the burned part, and it was making her uncomfortable. "_They both treat me like some fragile little kid, Mew and Mewtwo. I get so tired of it sometimes_."

"Well, maybe they're just trying to look out for you. How old are you, anyway?"

Eve blinked. Just how old had she gotten back then? "_I... don't know. I woke up in the lab about four months ago, I think. I've only been free for a few weeks now_."

"So you haven't had much of a chance to see the world."

"_I still know more about it than he does!_" She winced as her tail hit the rock again. She really had to stop moving it for a while. To the side, Fervo looked over at her with interest.

"Really? How do you figure that?"

"_I just... do_." Eve felt a sudden sense of shame over her human past. Could that be why Mewtwo was so cold all the time? She wanted to, had to change the subject. "_Hey, Fervo? What exactly happened in Lavender, anyway?_"


	14. The Root of the Problem

You know, I'm really enjoying working with Buwaro's characters. Namely because they cause a character or two of mine some degree of pain. And watching that is always entertaining. Finally, working back to longer and longer chapters here. It makes me very happy, yes it does. Oh, just as a note? If you haven't read Tales of Flame yet, you're not going to know what the hell Fervo's talking about. Not my fault. Aheh. So let's go!

* * *

"So, anyway, we're running for our lives, and trying to drag Mew along with us, and your buddy Mewtwo is just counting down how long we have, and sure enough the whole place blows when he hits zero. Only problem is, Mew and Flame aren't completely out yet, and the building comes down right on their heads. It was a miracle they even survived." Eve lay on her stomach looking up at Fervo while he told her about the dramatic rescue of Mew in Lavender Town. The Treecko, she had finally found out just what he was, had gone all out in the telling, even acting out parts. He was fond of waving his hands in the air when he got into it. "So of course, I had to dig them out after that. Scyther helped, too, but you know how that goes. Bug types are such lightweights." 

Eve laughed to herself. Sure, she'd probably have to check with Flame or Mew later to see which parts of Fervo's story actually checked out, but it was still entertaining to watch him 'reenact' the big adventure. Although, she thought with a small smile, it probably wasn't amusing in the way he intended it to be. Half the time she had to resist the urge to laugh at him. She didn't mind, though. It was hard to be angry listening to someone this funny. "_So then what happened?_"

"Well, of course I had to dig them out. But by then, everyone else was starting to show up, too. So we had Mew use transform and took him to the Pokémon center to be healed, because he was in really, really bad shape, you know?" The Treecko finally sat back down and looked at her. "You know, they actually had an argument over you, I think. When Mewtwo showed up alone, Mew got pretty mad and demanded to know where his little sis was."

"_She did?_" Once it was determined that 'he' and 'she' didn't necessarily work with Mew, they had just fallen into calling the kitten whatever they knew her best as.

"Yeah. He started yelling, but Mewtwo wasn't too impressed, so they started fighting. None of us knew what they were talking about, but it didn't seem really important at the time anyway. We just wanted out of there, you know?" 

Eve nodded, pushing herself up onto her elbows. "_So, is that how you met Mew, also, or just Mewtwo?_"

"Oh, I'd already met Mew by this time. See, I was caught in this cave network for a while, a system run by this psycho Bayleef, and Mew helped us get out. That's how I met Flame. The guy's a trouble magnet, I tell you. That's why he really needs friends like me; to bail him out of danger. We're always having to save his ass from one thing or another."

"_Is that so?_" Oh, now she really needed to get Flame's side of the story, she just _knew_ it wouldn't match.

"Yeah, that's so. Same for Mew, actually. Man, wherever that cat goes, trouble follows."

Eve frowned. As much as she didn't want to, she felt compelled to defend Mew, at least. "_She has her good points, too, you know. She tries to be nice!_"

"Oh, yeah?" The Treecko eyed her. "Name one nice thing Mew does on a regular basis.

Evetwo didn't have to think. "_She brings me milk._"

Fervo stared at her. "Milk."

"_Uh-huh. Great big cans of it. We share it for breakfast_."

Eve wasn't sure what kind of reaction she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't the one she got. "I'm going to kill that stupid cat!"

"_Ah... why?_"

"Because now I know how we got here," the Treecko fumed. "We were heading in to Saffron City, and we passed a dairy farm along the way. The farmer was going nuts because someone was stealing the milk and bringing the bloody cans back empty. We were tailing the thief when we ended up here! That damn Mew must have opened a rift or something!"

That made sense, didn't it? Eve nodded, more to be polite than to agree. "_So, what are you going to do now?_"

"Well," Fervo looked thoughtful. "I supposed we tell Mewtwo now. If it's something Mew did, maybe he would be able to undo it." "_I don't know. Mew's got a few abilities that I don't think actually got passed on to us._" 

"Eve," Fervo said with the utmost seriousness, "Mew has a few abilities that I don't think any Pokémon should have, least of all the two of you. _Especially_ not the two of you."

"_Uh-huh_."

"I'm serious! Mew can do things to other Pokémon that no one should have the right to do!"

"_I believe you_."

"Oh." The Treecko stared at her. "Good girl."

"_Please don't say that. The only person who ever says that to me is Mew, and then only when she's conned me into doing something I don't want to do."_

"Like what?"

"_Living here would be a pretty good example_." Fervo looked like he was about to say something when he was interrupted by a small explosion somewhere across the island. Eve followed his gaze to a ball of smoke hanging in the sky. "_Flame?"_

"Probably. Anything standing between us and there?"

"_Ah_." Evetwo closed her eyes. It was easier to focus if she blocked out as many distractions as she could. "_Just Mewtwo, and he'll get to Flame before we do anyway_." By the time she opened her eyes again, Fervo was already headed for the smoke. Eve got up and followed him.

Just as she said, Mewtwo was already there before they got to the Charmander. Eve couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like Fervo barged right into an argument. "Flame!" Both Mewtwo and Flame turned to look as she and Fervo joined them, and sure enough, the other clone was mad. Eve decided on self-preservation and kept quiet, letting Fervo plunge right in. "We figured out who the thief was!"

"What thief?"

"The milk thief!"

"_Well, we could have island fire-fighters showing up at any moment thanks to your friend here_." Mewtwo's tone was snappish, and Eve wondered if maybe it wasn't just her after all. Maybe he hated everybody. "_I believe that is more important then a lowly thief._"

"It might be able to help you get rid of us." If Fervo was trying to be helpful, it wasn't working.

"_Until the potential disaster is averted, you are staying right here_."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to get out of here before something bad happens?"

"_I happen to be rather fond of this island. It has served as a good home for some time now_."

Eve tilted her head to one side. Mewtwo could go on for hours like this. She wondered if the Treecko was equally stubborn. He seemed to be, which meant that they could be standing there all day waiting for this one to be resolved. As long as they didn't turn on her, she didn't think she cared.

Flame, on the other hand, did care, as he demonstrated when he opened his mouth and shouted as loud as he could. "I eat kits!"

Evetwo had never seen any two people shut up so fast in either of her lives. Both arguing Pokémon turned to stare at him with such disbelief that she would have laughed had she not been completely confused herself. "_Excuse me?_"

"Thank you. I finally have your attention." Flame's victory was short-lived.

"You eat kittens?" Fervo actually sounded shocked. "That's a whole different side to you that I've never seen before."

Mewtwo voiced Eve's own thoughts when he spoke up again. "_I think he was merely using that phrase to get you to be quiet._"

"You're the one who won't shut up, pal."

"Both of you just shut the fuck up!" Once again, Mewtwo and Fervo turned to stare at Flame, who grabbed the green lizard by the arm and started pulling him away.

"You can't eat me," Eve heard Fervo shout as he was bodily removed from the clearing, "I'm no kit!"

Mewtwo glared after them disdainfully. "_What an absolute moron_."

Eve rolled her eyes_. "Well, I don't see you any closer to figuring out how they got here_."

"_And you would know?"_

"_As a matter of fact, yes_." Oops. Now he was looking at her, and he was still mad. Eve started walking. Someone had to keep an eye on Flame and Fervo, just in case. "_See, Fervo and I were chatting, and he told me what they'd actually been doing when they wound up here._"

"_And what were they doing?_" Eesh, that was the "I have no patience left so this had better be good" tone. Eve walked a little faster.

"_They were helping a dairy farmer look for a thief. Who do we know who steals milk on a regular basis?_" Ah, there they were, down on one of the lower cliffs. With the two smaller Pokémon located, Eve chanced a glance back at Mewtwo. At first he just stood and stared at her, almost disbelieving, before looking downwards at Flame and Fervo.

"_It would explain a lot. If Mew's powers were somehow made unstable by the testing Team Rocket did-_"

"_Which I still wouldn't know about if they hadn't shown up,_" Evetwo spat before she could stop herself.

Mewtwo ignored her. "_Then it is highly possible that when she teleported, she managed to create a sort of a tear in space. The farther the distance teleported, the harder it becomes, and the greater the tear would be. Such an instability in the powers of someone of Mew's level would also account for the psychic radiation that seems to have attached itself to them._"

"_The mutation, right? Like, some of Mew's power rubbed off on them, and that's why they have psychic energies now._"

"_So you were listening after all_."

"_Not only do I listen, but apparently I do a lot more thinking than you give me credit for_."

"_Perhaps_," Mewtwo's attention was suddenly focused on the two down on the beach. Eve had been so involved in the telepathic conversation that she had forgotten to listen to the one below. Both Flame and Fervo were focused on a small object in Flame's paw, and Mewtwo seemed to hone in on it as well. "_Interesting_," he commented, his 'voice' resonating slightly. It was the indication that he'd stopped talking just to her, and was now including them in the conversation. "_It seems as though the radiation is affecting you faster than I had initially expected_."

"Damnit, Mewtwo, stop listening in on our conversations!" Eve wondered where Fervo got the courage to back talk someone who could rip him apart without even touching him.

"_Or what? I could throw you off that cliff without a second thought_." Or that would work, too.

"Step over here and say that, purple boy."

Oh, for pity's sake, she should have just stayed in the water...


	15. Overload

Wow... I am soooo damn tired right now... No, really. This chapter drained me. Badly. I guess there's only so much a girl can take, you know? And in more ways than one. Anomaly's chapters are starting to get longer than their Tales of Flame counterparts, just so you know. This one beats out it's other half by five hundred words. Exactly. Buwaro read it and did a word count, and then he says, "You did that on purpose didn't you?" Honestly... yes. It was totally deliberate. But I didn't intend for it when I started! So... let's go!

* * *

Gee, this was fun. Evetwo exhaled huffily as Fervo and Mewtwo started snapping at each other again. Didn't he get along with anybody? She'd gotten along with the Treecko just fine, herself. It was only Mewtwo who was having any problems with him.

On the plus side, Flame looked like he might yell something crazy again, which would at least be somewhat entertaining. But no, he just turned and stomped back up the cliffs and off towards the trees. Eve watched him for a moment, and then, glancing back at the arguing duo, tagged along behind. "_Hey, wait up!_"

The Charmander looked back over his shoulder at her. "What do you want?" Ugh. Was there anyone on this island who wasn't mad right now?

"_The same thing you do. To get away from that._"

"You're not going to throw something at me, are you?"

Eve groaned. "_I said I was sorry! How many times do you want me to apologize?_"

"I was joking. Have a sense of humor." Flame busied himself by taking the object in his hand, a small pink horn on a length of vine, and tying it around his neck. Eve stared at it.

"_What's that?_"

"War trophy." Flame glanced back, presumably to see if they were being followed. They weren't. "Is he always like that?"

"_Yeah, pretty much_."

"Fuckwit."

Eve blinked. "_Excuse me?_"

"Not you, him. He's a bloody bastard."

"_Oh._" The clone blinked. The words themselves were unfamiliar, but she could get the basic idea if she considered them for a moment. "_Yeah, pretty much_."

Flame stared at her. "You guys don't get along well, do you?"

"_You noticed_."

"It was kinda hard to miss." Flame's eyes shifted, looking behind her, and Eve turned as Mewtwo caught up with them, followed by an extremely disgruntled Treecko. "About time you noticed we'd walked off."

Mewtwo walked right by them. "_Come this way. We have matters to discuss_."

"Yes sir." Flame made a mock salute once Mewtwo's back was turned. Fervo just flipped his middle claw at him. Now, what did that mean again? Back then, that was one of the things you weren't supposed to do... oh, right. That's what that was. Eve fought the urge to laugh; there was no need to give anyone the incentive to start fighting again, after all. That had gotten boring very fast.

Stretching her arms above her head, Eve looked up at the sky. The sun was creeping closer to the sea as the afternoon fell into evening. There were probably only a couple hours of daylight left. Not the most productive day ever.

Come to think of it, she hadn't had anything to eat since the chocolate bar earlier in the day. She'd just been too busy to notice how hungry she was. Maybe she should grab a few fruits when they passed the apple tree. If they did have 'matters to discuss' then who knew when she'd get a break. It wasn't like she was incapable of talking and eating at the same time, either. Ah, the beauties of telepathy.

"_And of course, someone is not paying the slightest bit of attention to what we are saying._" Of course, telepathy could also suck, badly, because it was fairly hard to ignore when directed right at you. A wide-area transmission, she could blow off, but_... "Have you heard a single word that has been said?_"

Eve kicked at a rock sheepishly. "_Sorry, I kind of got lost in though for a minute there_."

"_I assumed as much._" Mewtwo turned his attention to Flame then. She could feel him say something to the Charmander, but Flame ignored him and ran up one of the apple trees instead, only to come crashing to the ground headfirst seconds later. It didn't look deliberate on the part of the Charmander, but it didn't look like an accident, either. Flame whirled on Mewtwo.

"What the hell was that for?"

"_You cannot eat until I am certain that it will not affect you._" Eve stared at Mewtwo in disbelief, and Fervo seemed to mirror her startled emotions. Flame, on the other hand, just grew angry.

"It will have an effect, it'll stop me starving!"

"_You will survive. If you do as you are told then the tests will take less time._"

Fervo glared up at the larger clone. "I hope Giovanni catches you next time," he spat, "because I am not going to save you after this."

Eve's blood ran cold. He didn't... he couldn't actually _mean_ that, could he? At the very least, he didn't wish that on her? Right? Mewtwo looked equally startled, and stayed that way just long enough for Flame to make another break for the apple tree. This time the fire type managed to get to one of the fruits before he was flung to the ground. Mewtwo headed back towards the rocks, wondering quite aloud if all lizards were this 'rash.' Fervo went to help Flame up, and Eve saw the orange lizard pick up the apple that he'd dropped when he was pulled from the tree. She didn't say a word, just let him get away with the prize, and more power to him for trying.

Once they reached the central clearing, Mewtwo stopped only to see to it that the two smaller Pokémon were settled. Once that was done, he headed off towards the western cliffs. Eve followed him quietly, stopping when he stopped to look out over the water. She expected him to say something, but he just watched the sun set as she stood behind him. He knew she was there; she knew he knew. He was always aware of her. Finally, Mewtwo sighed softly. "_What do you want, Evetwo._"

There was no point in beating around the bush. "_You can't do this to them_."

He didn't even turn around. "_And why not?_"

"_It isn't right._"

Mewtwo scoffed lightly. "_Not right would be letting whatever powers they might have obtained spiral out of control. They were not born with psychic abilities; they had them forced upon them by means of a freak accident. As such, it is imperative that we find out just what the effects of that accident are as quickly as possible_."

"_That doesn't mean you have to starve them!_"

"_On the contrary, it does. The more energy they build up, the more likely they are to suffer adverse effects. Building up enough psychic energy could even lead them to discharge it in ways that could be harmful to both them and us._"

This was turning into another lecture. "_You could have at least told them that!_"

"_There did not seem to be any point. Neither of them seemed willing to listen to reason._"

"_Because you never gave them a chance to!_" How could he be so damnably calm? He wouldn't even look at her! "_Do you enjoy this? Do you enjoy lording over others like this?_"

Finally, Mewtwo turned. "_Say that again_," he challenged. "_Say that one more time._"

"_I think you do,_" she challenged him right back. _"I think you get some sort of sick pleasure out of bossing everyone around. You do it to them; you do it to me. You just can't stand not being in control!_" Mewtwo turned more fully towards her. Eve kept going. "_Personally, I'm sick of it! Haven't you noticed that you're the one they don't like? They have no problems with me, no, we get along just fine. It's you that no one can stand being around! Doesn't that bother you? Doesn't that even mean anything to you?_"

He watched her with a passive look on his face the entire time she was shouting. Finally, she fell silent, her lashing tail a tribute to her anger. Mewtwo nodded. "_Are you quite done yet?_"

Hateful, condescending bastard! "_Do you know who you remind me of?_" It was all she had left, the one thing that she could think of that would bother him. "_You remind me of the head scientist at the lab where I was created._" Mewtwo's eyes narrowed dangerously. "_Every day, he'd come in and order another test, another experiment. Always something he could justify, but the fact was, he liked the power. You could see it in his eyes_." His tail switched, mirroring her own. "_So you know what I did? One day, when he was watching them trying to train me, to mold me into their little weapon, I spun around and I hit him with my tail as hard as I could. I could actually hear him breaking, all the bones in his chest just crunching into one another. They beat me for it, too. Not just the usual lashings I always got for disobeying orders, but a full on beating. I didn't care. I would have done it again if I had half a chance_." Mewtwo's fists were clenched, his stance reflecting his anger, but Eve couldn't stop herself. "_And there was another man, too, who would always stick me with needles, and take my blood from me. When I got out, I ran into him, and he fell down. So I stepped on him. I stepped down as hard as I could, and I heard him break, too. He's probably still broken. That's what happens when you try to make yourself better than everyone else, you know. You get broken_."

He stepped towards her, and she held her ground not out of courage, but of a sudden, drenching fear. Maybe if they stood face-to-face like this more often, she would have remembered how much bigger he was than her. "_Are you quite done yet?_" Evetwo nodded, numb. Her blazing anger was nothing against his cold, quiet rage. "_Then we are finished here_."

And he walked away. Eve stood rooted to the spot long after he disappeared. How did he do that? How in hell's name did he make her feel so insignificant all of a sudden? She turned back towards the center of the island, and let loose with a shadow ball into the trees. It seemed like the most harmless way to vent her frustration as she headed towards the rocks in the middle of the span of land. Stopping to grab a few pieces of fruit along the way, she could just hear Flame and Fervo settling down to sleep again; apparently, she'd startled them awake. She waited until it was quiet again before heading through the fissure and down into the caves below. She wanted to eat her meal, and then she was going to curl up in her little bed and pull her big, soft comforter up over her head and close herself in, like a nest or a cocoon, and go to sleep. And good luck to anyone who tried to wake her up before it was morning, either!


	16. Tiredness

The plot bunnies are attacking me! Run away from the plot bunnies! Okay, so it's not plot bunnies, it's just ideas that I had never considered until I found myself confronted with them late last night. As such, I'm tired, and half of the chapter got eaten, but I think it's still okay.

* * *

It could not be morning already. 

Eve stared up at the apertures in the walls, watching the sunlight come streaming in. The slant of the beams told her that it was early, not yet mid-morning. She wondered when she'd managed to actually get to sleep. She recalled lying there in the darkness for what must have been several hours, fighting the thoughts in her head. Now it was light out. When did she actually sleep?

She didn't want to get up yet. She still felt so tired. She may have slept, because it went from dark to light very suddenly, but it didn't feel like it had done any good. There hadn't even been any dreams to comfort her. The world in her dreams, the world of back then, was always so warm. Just thinking about it made her feel a little bit better. It was nothing like this. Nothing at all like this...

Fumbling around for her brush, Eve sat up and started working on her hair. Anything at all to delay leaving her nest; anything to delay going out there and talking to him again. She didn't know if she could face Mewtwo after what she'd said. Would he even speak to her? Probably not. She sat and combed through her hair until every last tangle was gone, and then sat playing with her pretty brush and mirror. No good, she still felt depressed. Well, what the hell did she have to feel bad about? It was his fault for being such an arrogant jerk! The clone slapped her tail against the ground irritably, and instantly regretted it. Scowling, she pulled the appendage around for a closer examination. It was still a bit raw where Flame had burned her, but it was healing over nicely, and probably wouldn't scar.

Glancing up at the holes in the walls, Eve reached for her box of chocolate. Six bars left. That was enough to share with Flame and Fervo for two more days, one bar each, and then she'd have to find some way back to the island with the people on it. She picked up three of the candies and stood, stretching her limbs. She might as well get it over with and go outside.

She left the caves wearily, and saw everyone else awake. Mewtwo gave her half a glance before turning his back on her. She blinked. She knew he'd still be mad, she'd even been prepared for it, but to see him turn away like that still kind of stung. Sitting next to Flame, Fervo made a remark of some sort that she didn't quite catch, and Mewtwo spun on him with a hateful, poisonous look that reminded her of the one she'd gotten the night before. Both smaller Pokémon recoiled as he said something to them. Eve noted rather sourly that she'd been excluded from the message.

She waited before he was gone before she approached them. _"What was that all about?"_

"Let's just say that Fervo picked a bad time to suffer a bout of stupid," Flame mumbled, glaring over at the Treecko. He seemed determined not to look her in the eye.

Fervo got defensive real fast. "It was an easy mistake!" Eve raised an eyebrow. Between the two of them and their varying reactions, she wasn't sure whether she really wanted to know or not.

"So, what today? Planning anything interesting?" Eve shook her head. Plans were no fun anyway, especially not when you made them for other people.

"What kind of holiday is this," Fervo complained. "We're just supposed to lay here and get a tan? Yeesh, talk about crap service."

Flame looked just as blank as she felt. "What's a tan?"

"You don't know what a tan is?" Fervo stared at the Charmander in disbelief. Eve said nothing, instead wracking her brain for the definition of tan. Tan was... tan was... oh, right. Lying out in the sun until your skin got dark.

"Sorry, I am a little out of it. What with me starving and all! And the berry bush was blown up last night, remember?"

As Flame went to smack Fervo, probably for something to do with the berry bush, Eve remembered why she'd come out of the caves in the first place. _"I brought chocolate."_

"Praise Eve!" Fervo yelled, breaking away from Flame in the process. The gratitude cheered her up just a little bit.

"I'll get you later," Flame stated as he grabbed for the chocolate bar, "when I have a full stomach."

At first, it seemed like there would be no incidences of chocolate theft today. At least, Flame and Fervo started out behaving themselves. But then, as Eve watched, Flame seemed to decide that one bar wasn't enough and went for Fervo's. The Treecko was ready for him, jumping out of the way fast enough to not only protect his meal, but to trip the Charmander up in the process. Fervo laughed at his downed friend as he swiped Flame's bar. "Call this revenge!"

Flame's eyes widened as Fervo ran off with his breakfast, and he scrambled, rather ungainly, to his feet. "Get back here!"

Even as depressed as she was, it was hard not to feel just a little more light-hearted with these two around. Eve watched, amused, as Flame tore after Fervo, intent on reclaiming the stolen chocolate. At one point, she had to shift her poor tail before it was trod on. Around and around and around they went, and Eve noted that the Charmander was gaining ground with each looping of the clearing. Soon there were only a few feet between them, and then not even that. She wondered how Fervo was going to get out of this one.

The answer came quite suddenly when, inches away from being pounced on, Fervo turned towards her. "Eve, heads up!" She didn't have time to recall what the phrase meant, but it didn't really matter anyway, because when someone lobs something at you, you're supposed to catch it, right? She caught the chocolate, wincing as Fervo hit the ground with a crunch as Flame nailed him with a full tackle from behind. That had to have hurt.

"Sod the chocolate," The Charmander yelled. "You are a dead lizard!"

For a moment, Eve seriously considered stepping in, but only because it looked like Fervo was about to get his face smashed in for real. She was just about to get up when she heard a familiar voice ringing through her mind. _"Eve? You there?"_ Oh, great, just what they needed now...

"Mew," Fervo muttered, shoving Flame off of him. "About time." His tone was just a little bit dangerous as he grabbed Flame and started to pull him out of sight. The word 'ambush' came to mind full force.

_"Eve?"_ Mew appeared over the island, carrying a milk can with her tail. She sounded more like she was muttering to herself than actually trying to communicate with anyone else. _"Damnit, if Mewtwo hadn't put the place under lockdown I could have just teleported here instead of flying this canister over. And the orange idiot has gone and vanished completely. All I need now is Celebi to show up and I'll have a full house."_

Eve called up to the distracted pink Pokémon. _"What are you on about this time?"_

Mew finally saw her. _"There you are! What's going on, Eve? The whole island is blocked off!"_ Eve could hear Flame and Fervo muttering from the bushes. The sound dropped off as Mew grew closer. Eve said nothing, just let the cat land. She probably deserved whatever was coming to her, after all. _"There we go. I brought breakfast!"_ Eve remained silent, and Mew looked over at her, lapsing back into speech over telepathy. "Jeez, you're quiet."

_"Disappeared, huh?"_ Mew stared at her, and Eve elaborated. _"The orange idiot."_

"Yeah! It's the weirdest thing; he's just gone without a trace. I looked all over, and I found his friends, but he simply was not there." Mew was busy trying to pry the lid off of the can. Eve stood there mulling over the fact that Mew still hadn't noticed that anything was off. Had she dropped her guard, believing the island to be safe? Or was it something else entirely? She tried a little experiment, thinking over a few of the new words she'd learned from Flame. Mew didn't even look up, and Eve realized that for the first time since they'd met, Mew wasn't mind reading. "And there we go!" The kitten popped the lid off and looked up at Eve expectantly. The clone said nothing, simply thinking, but there was still no reaction from her progenitor. Mew tilted her head to one side. "Quiet is right! Is something wrong? You're usually demanding your share by now."

_"You might want to try turning around."_

Mew did so, and gaped at the orange lizard that had come up behind her. "Flame?" Mew's disbelief was evident in her stunned tone. "How did you get here?"

"I was hoping you'd be able to tell me the answer to that."

Mew stared at the Charmander, and Eve noted her mouth moving as though she wanted to say something, but couldn't. The clone had to fight back laughter. The kitten had no idea what was going on! Finally, Mew thought of something to say, but it was hardly intelligent. "Am I going to have to split this milk three ways now?"

"No!" Flame yelled, right before launching a ball of fire straight at Mew's head. Mew ducked out of the way, just in time to avoid the rock that came crashing down right where her head had been. Eve couldn't tell whether his intention had been to help Mew or to hurt her, and the kitten didn't seem to sure, either.

"What the hell is going on?"

"We got teleported here after going after a milk thief. Looks like we found one!" Flame dove in between Mew and Fervo. The Treecko growled.

"Get out of the way, I want to beat a way home out of him." Flame stared at Fervo, and the green lizard suddenly looked ready to laugh. "Pokémon can crossbreed, Flame." Flame's eyes widened dramatically, and Fervo actually did laugh this time. "You got telepathy, I got mind reading," he bragged as he knocked Flame off of his feet to go after Mew.

"And now I hate psychic and grass types," Flame muttered.

"_Psychics suck_," Eve agreed without thinking as she gave Flame his chocolate bar back.

"So what does that make us, then?" They stood and watched as Fervo tore after Mew. The kitten was slower than usual, and it looked like the Treecko just might catch up. "Give them a minute and we'll go sort them out."

Eve nodded silently. She didn't feel like talking today, so she just stood and watched them run, around and around and around. Her head hurt...


	17. Run Run Run Around

Has everyone read Hoenn Chronicles yet?

* * *

Eve had no idea whether she was supposed to help Mew, or let Fervo smack her, or maybe let Flame step in, or what. Quite honestly, she didn't care. Let Mew look after herself this time; Fervo wouldn't really hurt her, would he? The clone shifted slightly, and then glanced down at Flame. He was brushing off Fervo's chocolate, which had fallen on the ground. Dirty chocolate didn't sound that good to her. "_Why are you going to eat that?_"

"Where I used to live," Flame eyed the bar, probably checking it over for any remaining dirt, "you ate whenever you had the chance. You couldn't tell when you were going to find more food, so you'd do anything to get some. Hell, if it was surrounded by Beedrill then you'd go for it. Well, I would. They are flammable after all." Ugh, Beedrills. Eve remembered _those_ well enough. Fire must be so handy. Down by her feet, Flame watched as Fervo was tripped up by Mew's dexterous tail. _"Remind me not to piss him off._"

"_I will_," Eve said cheerfully. Flame cursed; he hadn't really meant to say that. She knew he hadn't, too. Poor Charmander; he couldn't control his telepathy.

"Now, are you going to calm down or am I going to have to shut you down with force?" Mew had managed to snare Fervo with her tail and was holding his head up to look him in the eye.

Fervo stared at the kitten. "You really don't know what is going on, do you?"

"Can't know everything," Mew retorted. "There's no fun in that," But the tiny psychic did pull her tail back, instead turning her attention to Flame. "So, Charmander. Where's Mewtwo, I'm guessing he knows about your little visit."

"Oh he knows alright," Fervo muttered, reaching up towards Mew's head. "Ab-" Mew caught him by the wrist with her... his tail? Eve blinked. When did Mew do _that_?

"Did I forget to mention that my mind reading power has kicked in again?" the kitten chuckled. "Anyway, utter one more syllable and your wrist goes snap."

Fervo squeaked painfully. "Let go of me!"

"That was four syllables. Damn, you overshot. Well, guess I have no choice." But whatever Mew was about to do, he didn't. The kitten let go of the Treecko suddenly, looking towards the sky. "Damn, Miss Happy Happy Joy Joy wants a word with me." Eve looked up, but saw nothing.

"I know you don't like me, but you ought to know that I am not exactly cheerful right now." Eve spun, trying to find the speaker, but still saw no one. Flame was also looking around, confused, so she knew she wasn't crazy.

Mew yelled skyward. "Can't you see that I am busy here, Jirachi?"

"You and I both know that I would not call if it wasn't important." And then the image appeared, of a tiny, tiny Pokémon with a head like a star. So this was Jirachi? She remembered Mew mentioning the name once.

Mew glared at the little star. "Go sort it out yourself. If you can't look after your own cases then that is your problem."

"Mew, please just listen," Jirachi pleaded, and Eve could hear the slightest hint of desperation in her tone. Mew laughed dryly.

"I said the same thing to you once. What was it you said in return? Ah yes. I remember. You said, 'go screw yourself.'"

Meanwhile, Flame had decided to investigate the figure. He waved a paw in front of her face with no reaction, and then grew bold and stuck a hand through her head. He looked ready to try something else, she couldn't imagine what, when he was suddenly propelled backwards. Eve heard Mew mutter an apology.

Jirachi started to speak again. "It's Team Rocket. They've reached Hoenn too."

"Great," Mew's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "More bases to blow up. I really hope I am getting overtime for this."

"Can you be serious for once, Mew? They've managed to remove a Human girls' free will. If someone doesn't stop them then they'll have enough test results to put the device they used into mass production. Innocents will be turned into slaves. They've even managed to do it to some Pokémon too, so even we won't be safe." Eve felt her blood run cold and turned away from the conversation. A human girl. They were testing things on a human girl.

She stared at the leaves, blocking out the conversation. She didn't want to hear it. Couldn't hear it. Nope. The conversation behind her was not part of her world.

Her back to Mew and Jirachi, Eve saw Flame start to pick Cheris and hoard them into a small pile. She blinked. "_What are you doing?"_

"Making a pile of boom berries. Just in case I need to blow stuff up. Or I get bored."

"_Boom berries?"_ What was he on about? "_They don't explode. They're for eating._"

"Aye, they give my fire breath one hell of a power boost. You should know, seeing as it was these that allowed me to catch you off guard." Eve winced and glanced at her tail without really meaning to. Flame followed her gaze and promptly changed the subject. "We still have a milk canister lying open. Might as well take a drink, right?" Flame pulled himself up to the top of the can to examine the contents, and she could hear him wondering how she and Mew drank that much. "_Actually, knowing Mew's ability to mess up all of normality. Him being able to down all this wouldn't surprise me."_

"_She tried once_," Eve offered, "_but I pulled her out before she reached the three quarter mark._"

"I used telepathy again, didn't I?" The Charmander was peeved.

"_Yep_."

"I really need to learn how to turn that off, it could get awkward. Especially around certain people."

Simple logic told her that if she asked the question, he just had to at least think the answer. "_Like who?"_ To her surprise, Flame's face darkened. Was he blushing?

"I don't want to go into it," But sure enough, a name flashed across his mind. Eve tilted her head to the side, amused.

"_Who is Scarlet?_"

Flame was blushing for sure now. "I hate telepathy so much."

She was about to start prying when Mew joined them. "I'm going after all," he informed them with a sigh. "We'll catch up with your problem after I've gone and beaten the Rocket's up some more."

"It's okay, I think I can stay alive while you are gone," Flame laughed as he hopped off of the can. "Just try not to overdo it and get caught again. We're not going to be able to bust you out."

"I've been practicing," the kitten assured them. "They won't get me off guard again. Shame, really, that I hate them more than I do Jirachi. Then I'd be able to ignore her."

Eve shifted, and Mew turned to look up at her. Flame was kind enough to go check on Fervo right about then. "_You'll come back, right?"_

"Of course I will, kiddo. I always do, don't I?"

Eve studied him silently for a moment. Jeez, it was weird seeing Mew as a boy. _"If you get in any trouble, promise you'll call for me._"

Mew winced. "Yeah, I figured you would have heard about that by now."

"_Promise me!_"

The kitten sighed. "I can't, Eve. I can't promise you that."

"_Why not?_"

He at least had the courtesy to look her in the eyes. Yes, from evasive Mew it was definitely a courtesy. "Because I can't risk that you would do something reckless and get hurt. You're so special, and you don't even know it yet."

Eve looked away. "_Then maybe I don't want to be special_."

There was a soft laugh. "Little late for that, kiddo. Little late for that."

Eve was about to tell Mew not to call her that when she noticed movement from the corner of her eye. Oh, great. _He_ was here.

Mewtwo glowered down at Mew. "_It is about time you showed up! I-_"

The kitten cut him off. "Hey, easy. I see the problem, but I can't fix it just yet. I have some things to take care of."

"_And this is not something that must be taken care of?_"

"It's not life or death." Mew stood his ground. "However, what's going on somewhere else might be."

Eve spoke up. "_It's Team Rocket. They're running tests on a human child_." Mewtwo turned to glare at her, and she fought the urge to shrink away. She hadn't said a damn thing she didn't mean; she didn't need to regret anything; he couldn't make her feel guilty.

Mew stared from Mewtwo to her and back again before shaking her head. "You can bet we're going to discuss this when I get back."

"_There is nothing to discuss_," Mewtwo said sharply.

"Sure there isn't. Like I really can't tell when something is going on under the surface. Come on, just how naive do you guys think I am?" Neither clone answered. Mew sighed. "Listen, I know you're both probably really, really mad at me right now, but for just this once, I need you to be patient. What Team Rocket is doing could have disastrous results for all of us, and Jirachi can't handle it by herself."

Mewtwo scoffed lightly. "Since when is anything Team Rocket does not disastrous to us?"

"You know what I mean," Mew admonished. "So, can I trust you to look after those two idiots for just a little longer?" Eve nodded. Mewtwo must have done the same because he didn't say anything, but Mew looked satisfied anyway. "Thanks, you two. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"_You had better be,"_ Mewtwo told the kitten. Eve said nothing, just watched silently as, for whatever reason, Fervo decided it was necessary to clobber Flame. Not talking around Mewtwo seemed like the smartest thing right now.

Mew looked from one clone to the other again and sighed softly. "Yeah, we'll definitely be discussing this when I get back."


	18. Temporary Insanity?

Well, we have more of Eve doing something dumb. We also start to see the repurcussions of Flame and Fervo's new abilities. Which can only end badly. On the plus side, Eve and Mewtwo are speaking again. Sort of... Well, let's go!

* * *

It was really, really stupid to leave the island during the day. Even she knew that. So why, Eve wondered, was she creeping closer to the human settlement in broad daylight? What had possessed her to take that kind of risk?

Well, aside from the fact that Fervo had asked for more to eat, there was the obvious appeal of doing something she knew she really shouldn't. And of course, there was a larger chance of finding empty houses to raid while people were out doing things. That was always good, right? And then, more than anything else, she had just been waiting an excuse to get off of that island and be by herself for a while. As soon as Mew left, Mewtwo had his back to her again. He seemed more than willing to talk to Fervo, but it was as if she didn't exist any more. He was doing it to punish her; she knew that. What she couldn't understand was why it was working so well. It wasn't like she actually wanted him to talk to her. But some recognition of her presence would be nice, at least. Maybe she should just give up and say she was sorry. True or not, what she'd said had been pretty cold...

Three houses in the area were currently empty. One of them could actually be reached from the forest without being seen. She approached it slowly, waiting warily in the bushes until she was certain no one was nearby. She paused for a moment outside the house just to be doubly sure that no one was home, and then unlocked the door telekinetically and slipped inside. A quick search of the kitchen didn't turn up any chocolate, but she did find a bag of peanut butter cookies and some marshmallows, which she nixed gleefully. There were also several oranges in a bowl on the counter that found their way into her bright red backpack. After all, one couldn't live on sweets alone, right?

The next house that she could reach wasn't as empty as she had hoped, as she found out when a large barking canine of some sort came down on her when she was trying to unlock the door. She barely made it to safety before the neighbors came to investigate. Eve scowled. So much for that house. And she still didn't have enough to feed all of them for more than a day. Slightly dismayed, she moved slightly further along the island and found, to her delight, that the last empty house was also the biggest one there. Slipping inside was as easy as ever, and Eve hit the jackpot when she finally found the kitchen- one of the cupboards, high up off the ground, was full of candies. She grabbed almost an entire box of chocolate bars and some small round peppermints before examining the rest of the foodstuffs. A loaf of hard, crusty bread made it's way into the bag without so much as a moment's thought; she couldn't even remember the last time she'd had bread, but she knew it was very good. A wedge of cheese and a bag of grapes was eagerly snatched up before she decided that it was about time to get out. Checking to make sure everything was in its place, Eve slipped back outside and into the trees, weighing the backpack thoughtfully. It was getting kind of heavy. She probably had enough now. It was time to head home.

She managed to slip away from town without incident, and even got to the next island without being seen, so she was actually feeling pretty good when she decided to find a nice tree to sit under and eat a little bit of the cheese, at the very least. She slipped the backpack off and pulled it open to look for her snack. And then, quite suddenly, the bag was on the ground, and she found herself flung rather painfully into a tree and held there. Very angry violet eyes met her own from a distance of about five feet away. "_What were you thinking, going into a human town during the day? Are you trying to get caught_?_ Why do you insist on putting yourself in danger?_"

Well, at least Mewtwo was speaking to her again. But how in the world had he managed to sneak up on her like that? Eve tried to shift so the rough bark wouldn't dig into her back quite so much, but his hold was solid_. "I was looking for food_."

"_There is plenty to eat back on the island_," Mewtwo snapped as he examined the backpack. For a moment, she worried that he might dump it out just to be cruel, but he just riffled through the contents. "_How many?_"

"_How many what?_"

"_How many houses did you have to enter in broad daylight to steal all of this?_"

"_Just two_," she answered, leaving out the one with the dog. She never actually got into that one, so it wasn't a lie.

The force that had her pressed against the tree abated suddenly, and Eve slipped to the ground just in time to catch her bag as it was flung at her. "_We are going home. Now_."

"_I was headed that way anyway_," Eve mumbled. To think, she had actually considered apologizing to this jerk! Mewtwo took off into the air, and she followed silently. They passed the other islands without saying a word until they'd almost reached their own. Mewtwo stopped.

"_Something is not right._"

"_Not right?_"

Mewtwo stared down into the trees, and then went into a dive. Eve followed as quickly as she could, reaching the ground just in time to see Fervo take a shadow ball to the side and go tumbling across the grass. Mewtwo had him in the air before he even came to a complete stop, and she could see the Treecko struggling against the telepathic grip, to no avail. "_See to the Charmander!_"

Eve nodded, rushing over to where the torn up fire type was struggling to sit up. "_What happened?_"

Flame tried to sit up, but slumped over again. "_You can't figure it out?_" Eve blinked. She was fairly sure that had been deliberate on his part. "_Fervo went crazy all of a sudden. Caught me off guard._"

"_You're bleeding pretty bad._" The little Pokemon had blood seeping from some pretty serious wounds in his neck. The smell was overwhelming.

"_I hadn't noticed. Do you happen t have any bandages?_" Eve shook her head. "_is there a Pokemon Center nearby? I don't want to die._"

"_Ah..._" The clone shuffled her foot. "_I don't know if there is or not. Even if there is, I don't think I can take you._" Eve knelt down to study the wounds, trying to remember what Mew had taught her when she'd escaped. "_I think I can make the bleeding stop, but I'll need to take you to a different island. There's a kind of grass that's good for staunching blood flow, but it doesn't grow here._"

"_It wouldn't. I swear life has it in for me. Just when I thought I'd make it two weeks without nearly getting killed._" She heard a weak laugh, and then the little fire type actually reached up and grabbed her by the neck to steady himself. "_Well, we'd better go. I think I'll pass out soon. And that could be awkward._"

"_Awkward is right, you can't even walk_." Eve picked Flame up carefully, getting a stare from the Charmander. "_What?_"

"_Could you at least give me some warning before you do that?_" The Charmander shifted, looking uncomfortable, before taking hold of his own tail, which was looking slightly twisted, and giving it a fierce yank. Eve heard a sickening crack as it re-aligned itself. Oh, gross.

"_Could you give me some warning before you do that?_"

"_I don't plan on having to do it again. Now, can we get a move on? The blood isn't going to wait around._"

"_Don't you want to know about why Fervo attacked you?_" Jeez, she'd think he would be at least a little curious. She knew she was.

"_He'll still be crazy when we get back. Besides, it is probably the psychic radiation thing again. Now, can we go? My vision is starting to blur again._"

Sure enough, he was starting to look a little tired. Eve felt a pit in her stomach, a nagging fear that she couldn't quite identify. She took off without looking back, headed for one of the nearby islands. The flock of Pidgey that lived on it scattered as she landed, which was fine with her. She didn't need the distractions. Eve set the Charmander down as gently as she could. "_You hanging in there?_"

"_I think so,_" Flame sounded like he was starting to loose it. "_So, where is this blood stopping grass?_" Eve nodded her head to the ground, where the bluish leaves were poking up. The Charmander followed her gaze. "_Ah. Found it._"

"_How can you joke around when you are that injured?_" Eve bent down and started pulling out the shoots as Flame settled onto the ground.

"_As I said, this is a fairly regular thing for me. You get used to it after a while._"

"_Wouldn't it make more sense to not get in the situations in the first place?_"

"_I'd end up like Mewtwo. I think I'll take being mutilated over that anyday. Probably why me and Scarlet get on so well._"

Eve winced. He had her there_. "Come to think of it, I really don't have any room to talk either, do I?_" She started shredding the grasses. What had Mew told her about this one again? Oh, right. Reaching over to pull a large leaf off of a tree, the clone sat the soggy, grassy mass on it. "_Here. Hold this to your neck where the cuts are, and it'll stop the bleeding._ _So, who exactly is Scarlet, anyway?_"

Flame took the mass of plant matter with a small smirk. "_I'll tell you on one condition."_

"_What?_" Whatever he was going to say, she knew it wouldn't be good. But the condition she got was still miles away from what she expected.

"_That you tell me why you and Mewtwo had a falling out._"

Eve stared. Was it that obvious? Was falling out even the right term? They'd never gotten along in the first place. Finally, the clone just nodded. With any luck, she could dodge anything he actually asked.

"_Well, the whole thing started in Vermillion City. This was before I'd met Fervo, who showed up in a underground tunnel network run by this psycho of a Bayleef. Anyway, I'd gotten my ass kicked by a Raichu and afterwards by a freaky shapeshifting ditto called Asmodeus._"

Eve settled in to listen. Talking would at least keep the Charmander awake. He couldn't fall asleep like this. She didn't know why, she just knew it would be bad...


	19. Run Around Some More

OMG! OMG OMG! Have you all read Hoenn Chronicles yet? Two old Anomaly characters have made their debut in Hoenn, and I'm so excited! This is a rather spastic chapter, with much stuff happening, so don't try to rush through it or you'll miss things and get confused! Also, my fans are voicing opinions that really, really have me thinking, so I'm gonna ask flat-out, where do you see my characters as being thirty chapters from now? Think about that while you read, please. I really want to know! Now let's go!

* * *

Keeping Flame talking was easier than she expected. All Evetwo had to do was question everything. Who was this, what was this, didn't that hurt? He seemed to have some very interesting friends, including an adopted kit that, he claimed, couldn't be hurt by psychic attacks. The concept of a 'dark' type intrigued her, so she asked lots of questions about Blacky. Flame stumbled through the explanations, but eventually the blood loss started to catch up to him, and the poultice hit the ground with a soft plopping sound as the Charmander yawned. "_I need a nap_." 

Eve shook her head. "_You can't!_" Why? Why was it so important that he not go to sleep? Something in her memory was bothering her, something that hadn't quite come back yet. It was something she knew, but not fully; she didn't quite understand it. She just knew that it was important, and that unlike her other memories, unlike the memories of places or things, this one wouldn't come when called.

Flame looked up at her, and for a second his eyes glazed over and she feared the worst, but then his clouded expression cleared up again. "_What?_"

The clone sighed, relieved. "_You phased out. Something up?_"

"_I'm fine_," the Charmander said flippantly, "_Just a headache_." She was about to call him on it when Flame froze up again. He stayed still for several moments this time before he finally snapped out of it, looking confused for a moment before regaining use of his voice. "Of course. My race would be in my subconscious."

What the hell was he on about now? Eve stared at the Charmander, perplexed. "_What?_"

"Someone was in my head. They left a message for you."

"_A message for me_."

"Yeah." Eve waited, and the Charmander continued. "Anyway, someone who was trying to reach you got me instead. They said that Sea heard from her father about Team Rocket being in this area, and that Cheryl says hi. Does that mean anything?"

It meant something. Evetwo stared blankly at the smaller Pokémon. The message had meant nothing to Flame, but it meant the world to her, because it meant that they did still care. It had been a gamble, telling Cheryl where she was going. She wasn't sure the human would still want anything to do with her once they'd reached Kanto, and she had so many questions she needed to ask. After two weeks, she'd given up hoping that the woman would come to find her. But if Sea and Espeon were still looking out for her, it meant that the humans still wanted to help her, and more than that, that they still wanted to be her friends...

"_So, Team Rocket has found us at last._" Eve jumped, coming down practically on top of her own burnt tail. Mewtwo was standing immediately behind her. How did he do that? How did he always manage to sneak up on her? She scooted off of her tail and slightly away from him. That had hurt really, really badly.

Flame, who was not accustomed to Mewtwo's habit of cutting in out of nowhere, was fuming. "Don't do that! Are you trying to kill me?"

Mewtwo ignored the Charmander. "_Fervo has agreed to obey my instructions on the condition that he does not have to come in contact with the Charmander, so you are going to have to keep Flame out of the way._"

"I am right here!"

Eve started to turn towards the Charmander when Mewtwo started speaking again, distracting her. "_I believe the radiation has affected his personality. Flame seems to be calmer than usual, so it would be the logical deduction. Fervo's case would be more severe due to his grass type._"

"That made no sense." She knew Flame was right, but the sudden overload of new information was starting to make her head hurt. "I'm going to go jump off a cliff now. Okay?" Before she could stop him, the little fire lizard got up to leave and promptly fell on his face. Eve frowned and reached over to pick him up.

"_Sorry about that_," she 'whispered' so that Mewtwo wouldn't hear. "_I just... was a little overwhelmed, is all. I'll make sure he doesn't talk about you like that again_."

"_I am going to trust that you two will not do anything stupid while I am helping Fervo,_" Mewtwo cut in. Eve had the sneaking suspicion that he'd not only known that she'd been speaking, but had a general idea of what she'd said, because he actually managed to make some eye contact with the Charmander.

"You are no fun," Flame grumbled, rubbing at one of his eyes. Mewtwo glared down at him.

"_You are not here to have fun." _He then seemed to decide that he'd said enough, because he glanced at Eve pointedly one more time before leaving. "_Remember. Stay out of trouble._" Eve scowled. His voice had lost some of its resonant quality, meaning the message had been for her, and her alone. As Mewtwo turned his back to them, she remembered something the Treecko had done and decided to give it a try.

"So, what are we here for? Is it destiny?" Eve dropped her hand abruptly as the Charmander looked up at her. She couldn't help it. Fervo's gesture had just seemed appropriate.

Oops. Now Flame was staring at her. Eve looked away, and instead thought about the last encounter with 'destiny' that she'd had. Namely, a ride on the train, and a security system shorted out with a fork. "_Destiny is a pink furball with a sick sense of humor._"

"Just be thankful that you haven't met fate."

"_Fate?_" Evetwo blinked. Was fate another Pokémon? Another higher power, maybe?

"Celebi." Ah. Mew had mentioned that one once. "Mew calls him the fate fairy, because he thinks that he can control peoples lives so he gets the outcome he wants. Hell, our existence pisses him off. So Mew ended up fighting him. Well, Mew and a ghost Mew."

"_Ghost Mew? Now what are you on about?"_

Flame sneezed violently before he could answer, and Eve realized that her hair had been in his face ever since she'd gone to help him stand. "Ow..." She frowned at the outburst, looking down at the Charmander questioningly. He played it off. "So, guess we are stuck with each other. Where exactly am I going to sleep? Because the clearing is probably out."

"_I don't know._" Well, she did have one idea, she just wasn't sure if it was a good one.

"Meh, here is good." Flame closed his eyes, intending to go to sleep, and Eve made up her mind. Reaching down, she scooped the smaller Pokémon up rather quickly.

"_Here is not good, we should be back home where it's safest. I'll show you my room, how about that?_"

"Will there be food? I'm hungry," Eve could have figured that out on her own without him saying a word, even without using her psychic abilities. After all, the loud rumbling of his stomach said it all pretty clearly. Hadn't he already eaten a chocolate bar and a half today?

"_You are always hungry," _Eve observed as she took off towards 'home.'

"You got to feed the fire. If not, it gets pissy, and I end up dead. Which doesn't sound too nice."

He was joking about death? He was joking about death _again_? "_You have a strange sense of humor._"

"It's better than Mew's."

Eve chuckled. "_Point._" Landing on her own island, she scooped up her forgotten backpack and made towards the caves. "_I bet you never noticed these before._"

"I seem to be missing a lot of details," the Charmander said, reaching over to paw through the bag. Eve frowned and grabbed his wrist. That food had to last a while, after all.

"_You should ask before helping yourself,_" she told him as she headed down into the caves.

"I hate underground tunnels."

"_Don't worry, they don't go very far. At least, I don't think they do. I've only ever been in my room before, and the big one._"

"Great, we have caves that could or could not be filled with demons and bats and things," Eve shifted the rather sarcastic smaller Pokémon, noting that she was going to need to go for a swim soon; Flame had bled all over her. Settling the Charmander down carefully, she let him examine his surroundings a bit while she picked up her mirror to check the damage. Oh, ew.

"What the hell?"

Eve glanced back at the Charmander. He had that glazed over look again, and then suddenly his whole face contorted, and he started to scream. The clone set the mirror down. "_Flame?_"

Her only reply was a piercing, agonized scream as the fire lizard clutched at his head. Eve winced as the Charmander curled up into a ball on the ground, trying to block out whatever it was that was hurting him. The wailing was hurting her ears, and she shook her head vigorously before trying to pick the little lizard up, only to have a long pink tail wrap around her wrist and tug. "Don't touch him!" Usually she would have yelled at Mew for appearing out of nowhere like that, but this time the kitten's presence was greatly appreciated as he settled down to the ground so he was level with the wailing fire type. Mew's whole body seemed to glow more vibrantly pink than usual, but then it faded abruptly. At the same time, Flame's frantic yelling died down, and he managed to pull his hands off of his head. Flame lay with his eyes squeezed shut for a moment before he finally opened them and stared blankly at Mew, who was still on the ground and close enough to be nose-to-nose with the disoriented Charmander. "I'm back," the kitten announced brightly. "Just in time, too! You look weird when you're crying and screaming!"

Flame rubbed at his eyes; he looked exhausted. "What happened?"

"Someone tried to fry your brain psychically," Mew informed him, hauling the lizard to his feet and then catching him as Flame tried to fall over backwards. "Luckily, I picked up your telepathic screaming. I just reversed the attack and suddenly it was the one with the cooked conscious." Even held up Flame almost fell over to the side, and Mew let him sit down with a curious expression. The kitten looked the Charmander over before turning and fixing his eyes on Eve. The clone frowned as Mew took in her bloody front. Finally, the kitten looked Flame over again. "You two both look like crap," he announced abruptly. "I knew Mewtwo overdid the training occasionally but this is just taking the piss."

"It wasn't Mewtwo." Flame's voice was hollow. "Fervo snapped."

Mew blinked and turned his attention on Eve once more. The clone wondered vaguely why the kitten chose to assume a male form all of the sudden. "_Is that true?_"

"_It is_," she told him. "_Fervo just sort of lost it not too long after you left._"

Mew sighed. "_Okay, then. Come on, kiddo, let's let him rest a bit and we can figure out what's what here._" Eve looked over at Flame, but Mew was impatient. "_Come on, he'll be fine for a little while._" The clone nodded, following the kitten back up to the surface of the island. "Snapped, huh?"

"_Yes, and apparently Flame isn't behaving normally, either, not that I'd know. I'd never met them before yesterday._"

Mew ignored the jab, instead focusing on Eve, or more accurately, the blood all over her chest and arms. "That's not yours, is it?"

Eve shook her head. "_It's Flame's_."

"All of it?"

"_Yeah_."

Mew stared. "Snapped is right! Where the hell were you and Mewtwo that you let Flame get beat up badly enough to result in that?"

"_Well, I was looking for food on one of the inhabited islands..._"

"In the middle of the day?" The kitten looked up at her, wide-eyed. "Eve, you should know better than that! What were you thinking?"

Eve scowled, swishing her tail. "_Funny, Mewtwo asked me the same question. Right after he slammed me into a bloody tree, might I add_." She wasn't sure, but she thought Mew drew back just a little bit. "_As for what I was thinking, I was thinking that I had been asked if I would go find something more to eat. You did ask us to take care of them, and since it seemed like I was the only one up to the challenge, I went. As for Mewtwo, no one asked him to leave the island. That was his own doing._"

The clone turned away, walking over to the bushes to rip off a few Cheris to eat. Mew watched her move. "What happened to you?"

"_You're psychic_," the clone said bitterly, "_You tell me_."

"This isn't like you, Eve. You're not the angry one. Now what happened?" Eve refused to look at the kitten. Mew sighed. "I'm going to find out, one way or another. Wouldn't you rather tell me than have me pry for the answers?"

"_I can't stand him,_" the larger psychic murmured as she stared at the berries in her hand. "_He thinks he can push everyone around. He didn't want to let them eat or anything because then they might hurt themselves._" She clenched her hand, watching the juice run out of the spicy fruits. "_Where I was created, that was one of the punishments they tried on me... the woman who trained me, she'd order them not to feed me if I made her mad enough_."

"And how often was this?" Mew nosed at her arm.

Eve couldn't help a small but decidedly wicked smile. "_I made it a point to piss her off good every four or five days._"

The kitten raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're definitely my little sister, I'll say that. Now, I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that this led you to say something stupid, didn't it?"

"_Kind of..._"

"Kind of?"

Eve winced. "_Yeah. I said something stupid._"

"How stupid?"

"_Really, really stupid. Mind-bendingly stupid._"

"Care to fill me in?"

"_I really don't want to repeat it._"

"That stupid, huh?"

"_Yes_."

Mew stared at her for a moment, and Eve could hear her own words again, echoing through her mind. The kitten shook her head. "That was stupid..."

"_I think we've already established that, yes_."

"Okay, then." Mew nodded his head. "Now that we've established that you're something of an idiot-"

"_This from the cat that decided to undergo a gender operation._"

"Yes, that's nice. Anyway, now-"

"_No, seriously. Why are you so suddenly a boy?_"

Mew glared at her for a moment before carefully choosing his next words. "Some cases are better handled from different gender perspectives."

"_Meaning?_"

"Flame is under the impression that females, as a general rule, are led by psychotic tendencies. He wouldn't trust me half as much as he does if I was a girl."

"_Oh._"

"Now, as I was saying-"

"_So why do you approach me as a female?_"

"Are you trying to make this difficult for me?" Eve looked away from the exasperated kitten. "I really need you to listen to me now, okay, kiddo? I don't have the time for you to be stubborn." Eve studied the sky mutely. Mew nudged at her arm with his nose. "Come on, please?" The clone sighed and nodded. "Good. Now, here's what we're going to do..."


	20. Going Way to Far

Eek! It's chapter twenty! For chapter twenty, I decided to do something that, frankly, has never happened before. Ever. A few somethings, in fact. See if you can pick any of them out. So let's go!

* * *

"_Uh-uh. Nope. No way_."

Mew nudged at Eve's arm. "It's the only thing to do, and you know it."

"_I refuse to apologize for saying something that I meant completely!_" Eve crossed her arms over her chest, realized what she was doing, and dropped them back to her sides. Mew watched her, amused.

"You know things aren't going to get any better until you go ahead and do it."

"_You're assuming they can get any better._"

"I know they can. You two aren't that different."

"_Maybe that's the problem._" Mew didn't get a chance to respond as another explosion rang out through the island. Eve turned towards the smoke plumes. "_Flame?_"

"That would be my guess."

"_Oh, no_." Eve took off towards the smoke. "_No, no, no, no, no! This is not good!_"

"No, I wouldn't think it would be."

"_I was supposed to be watching him!_" The clone burst into the smoke-filled clearing that seemed to be the source of the blast. "_Flame?_"

It took her a moment to see through the smoke, but once she did, she found Flame pinned in much the same way that she herself was getting used to. Mewtwo was there as well, and while he gave her a cursory glance, his focus was on the Charmander. The fire type was angry, more so than she'd ever seen him, and she could hear him growling taunts at the larger clone. "Go on, Mewtwo," he called, "you don't like me so much. You toppled a building on me, so finishing me off can't be so hard. You even have an audience. Go on, tell her how you nearly crushed me and Mew. Tell her how you called her useless. Tell her how you would have lost if Scyther hadn't stepped in!"

Mewtwo's tail lashed dangerously. "_That was a mere technicality. If I ever come across the surviving Mewthree, I will make sure it does not escape. And I will do so alone._" Eve recognized his tone. Mewtwo was at the point right before his temper snapped.

Mew also, seemed to recognize the signs. "Kiddo," he muttered from Eve's side, "We're going to have to do something stupid in a minute here, because if I know Flame..."

Apparently, Mew knew Flame pretty well. The fire type was the only one who seemed unaware of how far he had pushed things already, and decided to give Mewtwo's temper one final shove. "Yeah, you were doing so much better on your own!" The Charmander yelled. "Scyther had to save you from being captured. The great psychic, needing help from a bug!"

She wasn't sure if she actually saw the blasts forming or just felt them as Mew jostled her out of the way, intent on getting to Flame before Mewtwo could. Every instinct she had was telling her to get out of there, but she fought it off and ran forward, unsure of what she was going to actually do until she did it. Mewtwo was so intent on dealing with Flame that he didn't see her coming, but he definitely noticed when his attack sailed far to the side because his aim had been thrown off. He glared down at her. "_Let me go_."

Eve shook her head, holding on to his arm as tightly as she could. In an effort to divert the blow, she had latched onto him and held on with her full weight. "_No._"

"_Let go, Evetwo!_"

"_I won't either!_" He tried to jerk back, but she held on tight and squeezed her eyes closed. If she looked at him, she might become too afraid to hold him back. "_Please, I know you're angry, but you can't take it out on him! Goodness knows, you'll just figure out some way it was my fault anyway!_"

"_As a matter of fact_," the anger in his voice was frightening, and Eve had to fight not to pull away right then. "_It is your fault! You were the one who fed them, even when I expressly told you not to! Fervo's psychotic break was your fault!_"

"_So just be mad at me, and leave Flame out of it!_" Mewtwo tried to jerk away from her again, and Eve realized he didn't know how to respond to her sudden physical assault. She clung tighter and scrambled to keep her footing, half expecting a clout on the head for it. "_I'm the one you should be angry at! I'm the one who's useless and stupid and all of the other things you say I am! Go ahead and be angry at me for that, hate me for that, but please! Don't be mad at him any more!_"

He'd stopped fighting. Eve could feel him looking down at her for several long moments before he spoke again. "_Let go, Evetwo._" His voice had lost the venomous edge to it, but Eve wouldn't be satisfied so easily.

"_Not until you promise you won't hurt Flame_," she mumbled stubbornly.

"_That is a child's request._"

"_Then I'm that, too! Its not like you've ever treated me like anything else._"

"_Let go_."

"_Promise first!_" If he was going to treat her like a little kid, then fine, she would act like one. She held on.

Mewtwo sighed softly. He finally seemed to be calming down. "_You have my word, then. I will not harm him._" She stepped back and opened her eyes. The larger clone was looking down at her with an expression that she couldn't quite read. He looked almost perplexed, almost amused, and maybe even a little chagrined. "_Now, dry your eyes._"

Startled, Eve reached up and touched her own face. Sure enough, there were wet tracks on either cheek. She rubbed at her eyes vigorously. Damn, damn, damn! When had she started crying? She didn't look up again until she was certain the last of the tears were gone. Mewtwo was still watching her. "_You regard the Charmander as a friend, then._" It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway. "_You are quick to trust._"

"_If Mew trusts them, why shouldn't I?_"

The larger clone scoffed lightly. "_There are times when even Mew's judgement is questionable._" He studied her critically. "_You take after him in that respect._"

She winced. He was right, damn it. "_Sorry_." It took swallowing every ounce of her pride to say the bitter word.

"_As you should be,_" he said matter-of-factly. She finally got the word out, and now he was just going to throw it in her face? But Mewtwo continued. "_As for my own part in it, I will try not to underestimate you in the future._"

Eve blinked as he turned away. Underestimate her? What? She shrugged it off and headed over to where the other Pokémon were "_My head hurts._"

Mew looked up from where he was helping Fervo prod a very unconscious Flame with sticks. "You look like it. Hey, could you pick up hothead there? He passed out."

Eve sighed and scooped up the Charmander. "_He didn't get hit, did he?_"

"No, you pretty much saw to that. By the way, when I said do something stupid, I didn't mean that stupid. Caves, please."

"_It worked, didn't it?_" She would have pressed the issue further, but she was too tired to argue. Eve glanced back at Fervo. He didn't seem to be having any problems any more, which was definitely a good thing. And Flame certainly wasn't complaining about anything, not even when she deposited him back in her room in the caves. She stood for a moment, undecided, and then headed for the exit.

Mew looked up at her from checking over the Charmander again. "Where are you going?"

"_To take a bath,_" the clone replied, not bothering to look back. She made her way back to the surface and headed for the cliffs to dive into the ocean from there. The plunge into cold water woke her up like it always did, but it did little for her spirits. She bobbed to the surface and floated there for a while, letting herself drift to shore on the rocky beach. Maybe she could get a nap in if she just lay there in the pebbles for a while.

"_This is becoming a habit of yours._"

Ah, damn. "_What is?_"

"_Going for a swim when things do not go your way._"

Eve opened her eyes. "_Who says it has anything to do with things going my way?_"

Mewtwo wasn't looking at her. His eyes were focused on some point towards the horizon that she couldn't see from her position on the ground. She wondered if he'd gone to that spot before or after she'd dove into the sea. It was hard to imagine that she could have just washed up at his feet by coincidence. "_It is just something I have noticed. Whenever you are particularly stressed, you gravitate towards the water._"

Eve sat up to look herself over. Most of the blood had washed away in the salty seawater. She sighed softly to herself. It would be best to get it over with now, she had to do it sooner or later anyway. And besides, it didn't mean she had to take anything back. "_I meant it, you know. When I said I was sorry._"

"_Yes, I know._"

She pushed on. "_I didn't just mean for grabbing you like that, either. I meant for that stuff I said last night, too. I'm sorry about that._"

He nodded. "_As I said, I will try not to underestimate you in the future._"

It clicked. "_That's supposed to be an apology, isn't it?_"

"_You could not tell the first time I said it?_"

"_Um, no. Not really._"

Mewtwo was silent for several long moments before he spoke again. "_I am not accustomed to having to apologize to anyone._"

"_I would imagine not._" Eve stared out across the water, trying to see what he was so fascinated by. "_So now what do we do?_"

"_I was under the impression that you did not like me trying to choose for others._"

Eve winced. "_Well, I wouldn't know where to start right now anyway, so it's kind of up to you whether I like it or not._"

"_In that case,_" she could have sworn he sounded amused for just a moment there, but she shrugged it off. Mewtwo didn't have a sense of humor. "_We start by teaching them how to control and channel the abilities they have gained through the radiation. I have already instructed Fervo in a few basic techniques; you should do the same for Flame._"

He wanted her to what now? Eve frowned. How was she supposed to teach Flame to do things when she couldn't even understand how she did them herself. "_Well, I can try, I guess._"

"_We do not have much choice in the matter. After today, I do not believe I would be able to work with him. He does not, however, seem to have any problems with you._"

That had to have been deliberate. Eve glanced up at Mewtwo, but his expression was guarded. "_You think of everything, don't you?_"

"_It is what one does when their survival is at stake._" Mewtwo glanced down at her. "_You look like something that has drowned._"

"_I'll dry,_" she muttered.

"I swear I'll never understand you two!" Both clones turned to look up at Mew. The kitten was shaking his head. "One minute you're at each others throats, and the next everything's fine and dandy. It makes no sense!"

Mewtwo, for one, cut to the point. "_What do you want, Mew?_"

"To be sure you guys will be okay on your own for just a little bit longer. I have some things I need to sort out."

Eve frowned. "_Like what?_"

"Just stuff. You two be good and don't kill each other, okay?" Eve scowled. Mewtwo just rolled his eyes. The kitten looked from one of them to the other and back again, sighed, and shook his head. "I'll never understand you two..."


	21. Now Where?

Wow! We finally got an update up! I hope everyone's holidays went well, I really do. I want to say thanks to all the patient people who've waited for a new chapter, and who take the time to leave reviews. Even if you guys do occasionally want to make me shoot myself, ha ha. No, really, I got the good reviewers, and I'm glad for it, because I've seen Buwaro want to throw stuff at some of the reviewers he gets. Myself included... Hmmm...

Well, let's get going with the first chapter of the new year, shall we?

* * *

This would be a lot less awkward if one of them would actually say something.

Evetwo stared out over the waves. She had hoped Mewtwo would go off on his own business once Mew had left, but he'd stayed exactly where he was standing. She didn't feel like giving up her place by the water, so she just remained where she was sitting, silently willing him to leave. It wasn't working. It wasn't working at all.

Finally, the female found that she couldn't take another moment of silence. She had to say something or she was going to go completely nuts! Glancing up at Mewtwo, she just sort of blurted the first thing that came to mind. "_So, how is psycho Fervo my fault again?_"

Oops. Eve looked back out at the water, cringing slightly. It had been the wrong thing to ask. There was a long moment of quiet before Mewtwo finally answered. "_When you fed them, I can only assume that whatever you gave them had large quantities of sugar in it. Sugars offer a quick burst of energy before they dissipate. The spike in Fervo's energy and corresponding period of lethargy afterwards could be attributed to that_."

Eve blinked. "_You're saying he was sugar high?_"

There was a sigh from behind her. "_Yes, I suppose one could call it that._"

Cool, the clone thought to herself. There was a soft 'hn' from above her, and she winced. She was certain she hadn't actually said that. She didn't want to be lectured just because the idea of extreme sugar high amused her a bit. But Mewtwo said nothing, and once again the conversation lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Eve sighed, reaching down to make little designs in the pebbles, and tried again. "_They're not so bad, though, Flame and Fervo. I kind of like them._"

"_They are fine, until they open their mouths._"

She rolled her eyes. "_Can't you say anything positive about anyone?_"

"_It depends on whether or not there is anything positive to say._"

"_That's a crappy way to look at life._"

"_It is not how I look at life, it is simply how I look at others._"

"_It still sucks._"

"_And how would you rather see others?_"

Eve blinked. It was an unexpected question, especially coming from him. "_Well," _she started hesitantly,_ "I guess I want to believe that people and Pokémon can be good. I'd rather take a risk and trust than have to look over my shoulder all the time._"

Mewtwo scoffed lightly. "_Someone in our situation cannot afford to have that sort of attitude._"

"_It beats living in fear all the time._"

"_There is a great difference between fear and caution, Evetwo. It would be wise for you to learn what that difference is._"

Maybe she should just give up and move. It was getting more and more uncomfortable to try to talk to him with every sudden silence. Eve huffed to herself lightly. How come she was the only one who ever made any effort, anyway? She got to her feet and shook the sand off of herself. Mewtwo looked over at her briefly as she brushed past him. "_I'm hungry. I'm going to get something to eat._"

"_Very well, then._"

Once he was behind her, she scowled. If that was all he had to say, he might as well have kept it to himself. She made her way back up to the caves, swishing her tail back and forth as she went. She'd get something to eat, and then she'd try talking to Flame about channeling his abilities. She ducked down into the caves. "_Hey, Fervo, have you seen my-_"

Where was Fervo?

Where was Flame for that matter?

Eve's eyes widened as she looked around her room. Her bag had been opened, and remnants of an apple and a few crumbs of cheese gave testament to the fate of its contents. Flame and Fervo were nowhere in sight. Eve ran to check the other rooms of the cave, but found nothing. No Flame, no Fervo. If they were gone, she was going to catch hell for it.

Very worried now, Eve rushed back towards the surface. If she could just find them before they did any damage, then maybe she could figure out some way to salvage the situation before Mewtwo found out they'd eaten. She rushed up the steps towards the entrance, only to crash into something at the top and tumble back down to the ground. "_Ow..._"

Mewtwo rubbed his forehead irritably. "_Is there a reason you are rushing about without watching where you are going?_"

"_Um..._" Eve pushed herself off of the ground. "_Well, I guess you could say there is, yeah._"

The larger clone sighed. "_And that reason would be?_"

Well, there was definitely no way to salvage the situation now. "_Flame and Fervo are gone._"

For a moment, Mewtwo seemed to be stunned to silence. Then, "_Gone?_"

It was quite possibly the first unintelligent thing she had ever heard him say. Eve had to fight the urge to laugh. After all, wasn't the situation supposed to be serious? "_Yeah, gone. I came in and they're not here._"

Mewtwo stared at her a moment before brushing past her, into her room. Eve watched the doorway. When he came back out again, he was scowling. "_Check the forest. I'll search the rest of the island._"

Arguing with that face was certainly out of the question. Eve hurried back to the surface and into the trees. If she hadn't seen the remnants of the meal they'd had, the first place she would have thought of would have been wherever the fruits were; Flame had a food fixation. Then again, who was to say Flame had been the one who'd eaten? It could have been Fervo, in which case she should probably look for the bodies. Frowning, Eve sniffed the air. All she could smell were trees and ocean; there was no blood on the island as far as she could tell. At least, she noted as she passed the clearing where Fervo attacked Flame the first time, there was no _fresh_ blood. The clone glanced around her. Well, so far there was no sign of the idiots. She poked around in the bushes anyway. No Flame. No Fervo. Blast...

We-ell, as long as she was poking around in the forest anyway, maybe she could grab a snack. Eve grabbed a few cheris to munch on as she searched. The best idea right now would be to take as much time as she possibly could so that maybe Mewtwo would find them and be done being mad by the time she got back. Then again, that might not be good for Flame and Fervo. But if she went back this quickly without finding anything, she might get lectured for slacking off, and she didn't want that either. Yep. Hiding in the forest for a while was definitely in her best interest.

Okay, they didn't seem to be on the ground or behind any bushes. And there was no sign of them in any trees, either. Eve skimmed the area again, occasionally stopping to munch on another berry. So far, it was quiet. She couldn't figure out if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

Somewhere in the distance, the clone heard what must have been a very large explosion. She shrugged it off. It wasn't on her island, or anywhere near it, for that matter.

But that was.

Evetwo's head snapped up at the sound of a yell. That was definitely on the island. So was the scream that sounded out moments afterwards. Turning, she headed back to the clearing in the center of the island just in time to see Mewtwo drop a squirming Fervo on his head. Eve pushed through the bushes, trying to see what had startled him. At first, she thought it was just Mew. But the small kitten had one major difference from the Mew she knew. It was completely see-through.

"I swear, Flame, you are the one person who could make an invisible staircase just so you could fall down it." It sounded like Mew, too, as it landed.

Mewtwo stared at the clear psychic, looking almost as confused as she felt. "_Mew?_"

"Well, yes and no. I'm more of his twin." The kitten grinned. It was kind of cute, in a spooky sort of way. But Mewtwo seemed unimpressed. He glanced over at her, his eyes narrowing.

"_Evetwo, get Flame and Fervo out of here! I shall handle this._" Frowning, Eve snatched Fervo out of the way as Mewtwo approached the see-through Mew, charging his shadow balls as he moved. Her luck may have held out earlier, but she didn't think trying to get in his way twice in one day would be smart.

The kitten seemed reluctant at best as he raised his paws in the air. "Whoa big guy. Let's not do something stupid here."

Mewtwo glared at the kitten. She recognized the expression; it was the same one he wore when they first met. She still winced when she remembered it. "_Team Rocket have to learn that no clone or ploy will get past me. Your trick will not work!_"

Eve closed her eyes, calling silently. There had been one thing, and one thing only, that had saved her from a second shot that evening, and she willed it to happen again. Please, please, please... "_Mew, where are you..._"

"Hold it Mewtwo!" The clone opened her eyes, blinking. Had Mew actually heard her, or was that his knack for just showing up at strange times. The pink kit had placed himself between Mewtwo and his 'target' with his arms wide. "He isn't with Team Rocket!"

"_Get out of the way, Mew_." The larger clone's tone was menacing. "_You could have been brainwashed by Team Rocket. Stand down or I will force you to_." Eve tensed, reaching to scoop Flame up before things got too violent. There was no way her luck would hold out twice in one day...

"Mewtwo would be wise to reconsider that statement, Mew is telling the truth." Eve squeaked. Who the hell was that? Out of nowhere, a green blur seemed to materialize behind her cloned brethren, revealing the biggest bug she'd ever seen. Forgetting Flame for the moment, Eve backpedaled away, her sole focus on _getting that thing out of here_ as she formed the ice beam between her hands and fired.

The bug didn't even bother looking at her until after the beam passed by his head. It hadn't even dodged, just moved its neck slightly to the side so the ice passed harmlessly inches from its nose. Eve squeaked again as her frantic shuffling backwards led to her downfall- literally. The squeak turned into a wail as she tripped over the Charmander, landing hard on her tail on the ground. "_Yaaah!_"

Ugh, now everyone was staring at her. Eve tried to think of something, anything to say, when there was movement in the bushes nearby, and another new voice. "Uncle!"

Now what?!?


	22. Where it Stands

Yay! Another chapter! And a certain two characters are giving me headaches _again_. Geez... Things should start speeding up after this. I don't think Buwaro has anything else to throw at me before we get to the fun stuff. Anyway, let's get going already!

* * *

Why was there an Umbreon on her island?

"Uncle Flame!" Better yet, why was it hugging Flame to death?

Eve scrambled backwards a bit further. This had to be Blacky, right? But he was tiny! Sea's Umbreon was half again as big as this one. Then again, Flame had said that Blacky evolved early, and was still just a kit. A very happy, very excited kit, for that matter. Flame looked close to smothering.

Mew, fortunately, cut in on Flame's behalf. "You can have your emotion reunion later, Flame looks like he's about to gag on your fur. Suffocate. Maybe pass out."

"You would know about the passing out," Fervo said with a smirk. Mew stared at him.

"And what is that supposed to mean? I have never passed out."

"You did after the first act of the Cerulean incident. When Flame socked you."

Eve wasn't sure what was more confusing, Flame and the bug's sickened expressions at the reference or Mew's reaction. The kitten stared at the green lizard for a moment, and then turned and stomped off.

"Why's Mew upset about Cerulean?" The see-through version of Mew looked confused. "All that I remember happening there is Asmodeus and the Persian."

"You're from a different dimension, so things probably happened differently there than they did here." Fervo nodded thoughtfully. The kitten seemed to contemplate this for a moment.

"True. Mewtwo is still alive here."

The bug lowered his blades. Flame stopped wavering for consciousness; he seemed to have forgotten he was hurt. The Umbreon looked startled, and Eve herself couldn't think of a single thing to say. Mewtwo turned to the little apparition. "_Pardon?_"

The kitten shrugged. "Fervo was right. Where I come from, things happened differently."

"Scyther believes that Mewtwo was referring to the dead part." The bug nodded his head. Eve wondered vaguely why he was speaking in third person, but she wasn't about to ask. Friend of Flame's or not, that thing still gave her the creeps!

"Oh. Right." The trans-dimensional kitty laughed. It was a cold, humorless laugh. "Well, you remember Lavender?"

"Vividly," Flame said as he shoved the Umbreon kit off of him. Fervo was nodding, and even the bug looked in on it. In fact, only she and the kit didn't seem to know what was going on. The other Mew continued.

"Well, in my world, I was caught too. Threw me in a shield and did who knows what while I was out."

"We know that part," Flame interrupted. Eve scowled. Maybe he knew, but she didn't. Nobody ever told her anything.

The clear kitten continued as though Flame hadn't said anything. "Mew told me what happened here. Flame and Fervo busted in and shut down the shield. Similar thing happened, only Scyther here wasn't with you two. Yet you made it in without any problems."

"See, Scy?" Fervo cut in suddenly, smugly eyeing the bug. "Breaking and entering does work. All the fancy stealth crap was unneeded."

Their storyteller sighed. "Are you going to keep interrupting me? I want to get this story over with so I can go drill Mew for what happened in Cerulean over here."

"Yeah," the little Umbreon piped in, "I wanna hear the story."

"_So do I, it's interesting._" Eve couldn't resist cutting a small glare at her brother while she said it. He returned it in kind, but said nothing.

"Thank you." The kitten nodded. "Anyway, the shield goes down and I'm getting helped up when Giovanni shows up and does his whole evil speech thing. Then his newest experiments, those really annoying psychic kittens-"

Flame interrupted. "Gee, I wonder where they get it from." He was ignored.

"Appear and try to kill us. Mewtwo shows up and draws all their fire."

"Giovanni tried to capture him in Lavender," Fervo pointed out, "Scyther sliced the ball in half. Is that how he died?"

"What did I tell you about interrupting me?" The tiny cat snapped, glaring at Fervo, "I'm telling this story. Not you!"

"Sorry." The Treecko didn't sound remotely apologetic.

"You'd better be. Anyway, Giovanni tries with the Master ball but Mewtwo blasted it before he could get sucked inside." Mewtwo smirked over at the bug. "While he was able to block one of the toys' attacks, the second caught him and then we all realized that he was in trouble." The smirk vanished. "He was on the defensive. He was able to stop them hitting him, but couldn't get a shot off himself. Whereas here, Scyther was keeping one occupied so Mewtwo was able to attack. He must have realized that he had no chance of winning because he suddenly went on the offensive and blasted Giovanni at point blank range. The bastard was blown to bits, along with one of the Mewthree's."

Across from her, Mewtwo walked over to lean against a tree, his arms crossed over his chest. It was getting interesting to watch him. It looked like he was twitching slightly, but it was hard to tell for sure. Eve glanced at his tail. Yep. There was a definite twitch there. Someone was getting annoyed, and how!

"The remaining one got him from behind, back of the head. For something so young, it was powerful enough to blast him clean through both the wall and a metal door. Then it just ripped a metal pipe out of the hole in the wall, pulled back its arm, and threw. Bull's-eye, strait through the chest. The damn thing kept going and kept pummeling Mewtwo with rubble and stuff until there was no chance of recovering. Then the finishing blow came." The kitten shuddered. "There was nothing we could do to stop it. Fervo was fighting that robot and Flame's fireball was unable to stop it in time. I'm sorry."

Mewtwo stared at the cat for a long moment before he nodded and turned to leave. But the kitten wasn't done yet, stopping the clone in his tracks with his next words. "However, the fireball hit it right as it killed you. It spun around into the blast and got the Nido-horn right in the eye. It was an instant kill. The building started shaking, and we noticed that you'd landed on a big red button. So Flame hauled me onto his back, yelled at Fervo and we ran like hell as the place started to self-destruct. Us two made it out. Fervo didn't. And without Scyther to lighten the girder that was crushing him, we couldn't help him."

"_So Fervo died, too?_" The green lizard, shaking visibly, glared at Eve for asking the question.

"Maybe it would have been better if he had," the storyteller said sadly. "His legs were both crushed. He couldn't ever walk again without specialized bracers." Fervo seemed to relax a bit as the kit went on. Being unable to walk was better than dying, at least. "When I look around, it's pretty amazing how that one little decision to take Scyther along changed everything."

Mewtwo turned and walked away and the small group fell into silence. Eve frowned. She didn't like it when things were too still. Someone had to say something. She blurted the first thing she could think of. "_What are you, anyway?_"

The kitten didn't miss a beat. "I'm the result of rocket experimenting, a trans-dimensional paradox and a whack to the head. Otherwise known as a phantom." The clone stared at the kitten blankly. He sighed. "You'll hear about it someday, I'm sure."

"_At the rate things have been going now? Not likely_."

"I'll have Mew tell you." The kitten bobbed into the air. "Speaking of which, I need to find him. You stay out of trouble!"

Eve blinked a few times and considered calling something after the apparition. She settled for a shadow ball through the trees, but by then it was too late. She turned back to the clearing. Fervo, the bug, and the Umbreon were all staring at her. "_Um... hi?_"

The Umbreon greeted her back with an enthusiastic, "Hi!" He was the only one to uphold any pretence of friendliness.

"Scyther could have sworn Mew said small clone was harmless."

"Harmless nothing," Fervo muttered. "Try getting hit with one of those things."

"Scyther would rather not."

"_I said I was sorry about that!_"

"Yeah, you did apologize for attacking Flame and I unprovoked one time. And yet you did it again just now," Fervo challenged. Eve winced.

"_That was nothing personal, that was... um..._"

"Was what?" The Treecko eyed her. "Come on, spit it out. Was what?"

The clone stared at the ground, only to find the black kit staring up at her. "Yeah, what was it?"

"_I don't like bugs._"

Fervo raised an eyebrow. "What was that? A little louder, please, I don't think I heard you right."

"_I said I don't like bugs,_" Eve snapped. "_They scare the crap out of me. Especially ones that are supposed to be 'lightweights' that turn out to be almost as big as I am!_" The bug was really staring at her now. "_Ah... no offense..._"

"And how exactly did Clone get the impression that Scyther was a lightweight?" Eve winced.

Fervo interrupted. "Her name is Eve." He was sweating slightly, and Eve decided he was probably just trying to save his own hide.

"Fine. How did Miss Eve get the impression that Scyther was a lightweight?"

Eve pointed at Fervo. "_He said so._"

"Um... Uh-oh." The Treecko turned tail and ran. The bug just watched him, chuckling. Eve stepped back slightly, and then glanced down as the kit sitting at her feet shifted.

"_Um... did I step on you?_"

"No, I was sitting on a rock." The Umbreon stared up at her, unconsciously mimicking her own words. "What are you, anyway?"

Eve blinked down at the kit. How was she supposed to answer that? She didn't even know for sure what she was! Over the little kit's head, the bug eyed her speculatively for a moment before speaking up. "She is Mew's little sister."

The Umbreon blinked before getting up to circle her. "Little? How are you little? You're way bigger than Mew!"

"_She is little because she is still a child._"

Eve stared over at Mewtwo in disbelief. How did he always come up without her noticing? And then he says that of all things. "_I'm not, either._"

Blacky looked up at Mewtwo. "You're bigger than she is."

The other clone looked faintly annoyed. "_Yes, I am._"

"How come?"

"_I am older, for one._" Eve glared across at him, daring him to go further.

"How much older?" Had Flame ever mentioned 'incessantly curious' when telling her about this kid? There was a shaking in the bushes. Fervo had come back, and was laughing silently at them.

Mewtwo was somehow managing to look speculative and annoyed at the same time. Finally, he settled on "_Several years._" Eve frowned to herself. She didn't her own true age, let alone how old he was. It kind of hurt, but at least he didn't seem to know any more than she did this time.

The kit nodded, looking from one of them to the other and back again. "You're both still bigger than Mew." Mewtwo's tail twitched as the little Umbreon stared up at her with wide, open eyes. "How come you smell different?"

Eve blinked. "_Smell?_"

"Yeah. You don't smell like they do."

She shifted where she stood. "_How am I different?_"

The kit tilted his head to one side. "I don't know, you just smell funny."

"_It probably has to do with how she was made,_" Mewtwo commented. "_She has a-_"

She knew what he was about to say. She wouldn't, couldn't let him finish. "_Shut up!"_ The larger clone turned to stare at her in disbelief. "_Shut up! It's none of their business!_"

"_Calm yourself,_" Mewtwo said firmly. "_You are over-reacting._"

"_It's none of their business and you have no right to tell them!_"

"_Are you so ashamed of it, then?_" Could he have sounded more condescending? Horrible, horrible, cold and cruel! Eve couldn't stop herself from trembling slightly as he continued. "_If you do smell different from us, it is probably because of the human base they used in your creation._"

"_Damn you!_" She couldn't stop the shaking. "_Damn you!_"

The Umbreon looked concerned. The others just looked shocked. Fervo, in particular, was staring at her with eyes wider than usual. Eve looked from him back up to Mewtwo, and then turned and ran into the trees. Why? Why did he have to go and say that? It was pretty clear, to her at least, that he already held it against her, maybe even hated her for it. Was she not allowed to have any other friends now? She shoved through the trees, stopping just short of arriving at the cliffs she used for diving. What was that noise? Frowning, Eve peeked through the trees in time to see a small motor boat skim across the water near her island. Hidden by the green boughs, she held still and watched warily. Boats didn't come out this way, especially not tiny ones that looked like they couldn't get too far from a port. The boat headed off towards a column of smoke on the horizon. Eve's frown deepened as she watched it go. Firemen, maybe? Still trembling lightly, she rested her head against a tree and watched long after the boat had disappeared.

"_Then you are ashamed._"

Eve whirled around fast enough to nearly give herself whiplash. "_What the hell do you want now?_"

Mewtwo's gaze was level. It was strange having him make total eye contact with her, and Eve shivered slightly. Did he have to look so detached? Couldn't he at least acknowledge her anger? He studied her quietly for a moment before speaking. "_You are running._"

"_Of course I ran! You would too, for them to stare at you like that!_"

He shook his head. "_I did not mean that you ran away from them. I meant that you are running now, from the truth about yourself._"

She looked away before their gaze could catch again, staring back out at the water. The most she could answer was a weak and uncertain "_You would, too._"

"_What color are your eyes?_"

"_What kind of question is that?_"

"_You cannot answer it, can you?_"

"_Of course I can!_" Eve spun back towards him. "_They're..._" She blinked. "_I..._" She couldn't remember. For the life of her, she couldn't remember what color her own eyes were. Mewtwo was watching her expectantly, waiting. She hung her head in defeat. "_I don't know._"

He nodded. "_They are red. A very dark, very rich red. I watched you one day as you sat playing with your mirror. Even as you stared down at your own reflection, you managed to avoid ever looking directly into your own eyes. You toyed with your hair and flicked at your ears, you examined the lines of your chin and cheeks, but never once did you stop to truly stare your identity in the face._"

She didn't want to talk about this. She wanted to bring the subject back to what she needed to talk about. "_You didn't have to tell them._"

"_Earlier today, you said that you liked Flame and Fervo._"

Now where was he going with this? "_I did,_" she acknowledged softly.

"_You also said that you would rather take a risk and trust than look over your shoulder. Your words do not match your actions._"

Her throat tightened. "_Stop using my own words against me._"

"_Then start doing them justice by trusting yourself, at least._" He turned away. "_Come. The kit thinks you are ill. It would be best for you to tell him otherwise._"

She followed him without a word.


	23. Goodbye to Mew

Okay. At the very very end of this chapter, we actually see some of the action! That's a good thing! Eesh, you can tell Eve is still kind of depressed, she's thinking. She's not the one that's supposed to think! What gives? Anyway, I'm really happy about all the reviews I've been getting, and all the people who have this story on their favorites list and alert list, although not even half of those ones ever review. I like to reply to each and every review I get, even if it's just to say thanks. If you leave good reviews, I can usually think of more than that. Of course, thatonly works for signed reviews by members, so there are a few of you I can't send replies to, and that's where this comes in- thanks for reading and reviewing my fic. I can't reply to you guys one-on-one like I like to do, so thanks. So let's go!

* * *

It was silent going. Eve was kind of thankful that Mewtwo walked with his back to her as they went. She didn't know if she could look him in the eye now, and it was better to not have to try. Did he really watch her that closely, that he could make an observation like that? How often did he stand sentinel, looking after her when she didn't even realize it? She couldn't ask. They made their way back to the other Pokémon without talking.

When they got to the clearing, it was to meet an uncomfortable silence. The silence was only broken when the little Umbreon jumped up, looking up at her with anxious eyes. "I'm sorry for asking questions that upset you," he said miserably. "I'm so sorry!" The poor kit looked ready to burst into tears. Eve swallowed. How could she have let herself get so depressed as to bring Blacky down with her?

"_It's okay..._" The kit didn't looked convinced. In fact, he almost looked more miserable than before. Eve bent down to pat the top of his head in an attempt to reassure him. "_It wasn't your fault. Please cheer up again? Little Blacky is supposed to be happy._"

Blacky's ears twitched upwards. "I am not little," the kit stated indignantly. Eve could almost smile again as he tried to puff himself up taller. He didn't even come up to her knees if she stood up straight.

"_You are, too,_" she told the little kit. He stared at her for a moment, trying to think of a proper comeback.

"In a week, I'll be taller than Uncle Flame!" The kit grinned, quite proud of himself for thinking up such a logical reply. It seemed like Blacky was getting cheerful again. Eve kept going.

"_He's short, too,_" She retorted quickly. The kit's eyes widened, delighted by the blatant declaration. She kind of wondered why he was so excited to hear that in the first place.

Flame's eyes widened for a totally different reason than the kit's did. "I'm taller than Fervo!"

"The hell you are!" Fervo snapped. Eve smiled. Staying depressed around this lot was hard. She fueled the fire just a little more.

"_You're taller than Mew,_" she encouraged.

Mew stared at her silently while his phantom counterpart yelped indignantly. "I am not shorter than Fervo. I mean Mew isn't... Damn it!"

"Nice one, Anti." Flame snickered, gloating slightly. The phantom glared at him, not appreciating the evident sarcasm.

Eve tilted her head to one side. The name was a new thing. "_Anti?_"

"Yeah," Fervo said. "He's the antiMew." He nodded as though the name alone should explain everything. To him, it probably did.

Eve responded with a polite but indistinct "_Ah._" Flame had made mention of that, hadn't he? Only they'd been interrupted before she could get any real information from him.

Mew sighed, shaking his head slightly. "Well, if you guys are taken care of, we should probably be going now."

Eve stared. "_You're leaving again?_"

"My work's not done yet. That's why I brought him here." The kitten nodded towards the bug. Scyther was leaning against a tree, his blades at his side. He still gave her the creeps, but she said nothing as Mew continued. "He'll help keep things in line."

"_Uh-huh._" Eve glanced over to where Mewtwo had been standing to see what he thought of that, only to find him gone again. Couldn't they all stay in once place? "_By work's not done yet, you mean what?_"

The kitten shifted in mid-air, the motion that she had come to equate with a sigh. His nose pointed towards the ground, he said, "I still have a few loose ends to tie up in Hoenn."

Eve stared. "_You at least saved the girl, right?_"

Mew hung his head, trying to look guilty and, for once, succeeding. "It wasn't possible. That's why I came back for Anti."

The clone inhaled sharply. "_But... you will get her back, right?_"

Mew nodded rapidly, then leaned up to nose at her cheek. "You bet I will. That's a promise."

Eve scowled and backed away. "_Don't even think of coming back until it's done._"

"I just promised, didn't I," Mew whined. Eve turned away, and found Flame and Fervo both watching her from across the clearing. It was too clear by their expressions what they were thinking. She looked downwards, nudging a rock with her foot, and was startled by another nudge, from the phantom. She stared at him instead. Only Mew ever did that. Anti seemed to know what he was thinking, probably heard every word of it, because he grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Force of habit." The clone grumbled softly deep in her throat, and the clear kitten winced. "I know that sound. I'll just go over here now."

Mew blinked as Anti headed off to join the others. "I've never heard you make that noise before."

Eve shrugged. "_I never tried it before now._"

"I'll add that to the list of bad noises."

Eve sighed. "_Mew, why did you come back if the job wasn't done?_"

"Because I was worried about you guys. I'm sure by now you've seen a little of what Mewtwo's temper can do."

"_I probably know better than you do_," she 'mumbled' with a slightly irritated tone. "_He gets mad at me for everything._"

Mew shook his head. "Kid, trust me, you've never seen his full temper. If you had, you probably wouldn't be here right now." Eve said nothing, just looked back at the other Pokémon. Mew had said something else like that once. The way I'd figured it, the kitten had told her, was if you both survived the first twelve hours we'd be good. She's hoped Mew had been kidding, even after being told otherwise. Now she was starting to understand better what Mew might have meant. Mew bobbed in the air. "It's probably high time Anti and I left. You take care of them while we're gone, okay?"

"_Okay..._"

Mew turned to stare towards the others, and Eve felt a tingling in the air. Telepathy, maybe. Her guess was confirmed when Anti turned towards them, eyes on Mew. "What?"

"We're leaving!" Mew yelled, swishing his tail in the air.

"About time too." Anti griped. "You know how hard it is to hang around in the real world and not do anything?" Eve wasn't sure she wanted to know what he meant. There'd been an ominous, slightly mischievous note in the way the phantom had said the word 'do.'

Mew rolled his eyes. "I daresay you'll tell me during the flight. Now shut up and let's go already."

Anti twitched his tail. "Weren't you going to leave something here?"

Mew blinked a moment, then turned and pulled something out of the air. Eve wondered how he did it. It was probably some sort of teleportation. After a moment, a small cellular phone formed. Mew turned and chucked it at Flame- right through Anti's middle.

The Charmander stared, first at the phone and then at Mew. "What the hell are you giving me this for?"

"Because, although she could work it better than you, Eve wouldn't be able to talk into it. Telepathy and phones don't mix."

Between the two, the phantom was visibly offended. "Why the hell am I always the target practice," Anti mumbled. "Ten points if it passes through my midsection, fifteen if you can get it through my head. Yeah, real funny, guys..."

"Okay. Now, why are you giving me one at all?" Flame stared suspiciously at the human item.

"Because I'm gonna call when I'm done in Hoenn. Look, just keep it nearby and hit the red button when it rings. Think you can handle that or should I write down the instructions?"

"I got it," Flame scowled. Mew nodded.

"Okay, then." The kitten studied them for a moment- Flame stared at the phone with a look that said he didn't get it at all- before turning back to Eve. "Now, you take care of yourself and try to-"

"_I'm going to tie a knot in your tail if you finish that sentence._"

Mew chuckled. "Kid, I was going to tell you to try to keep _them_ out of trouble. I know you too well to waste my breath telling _you_ to play it smart." Eve rolled her eyes and stared resolutely at the trees. The kitten nudged at her shoulder. "Come on, Eve, lighten up. I've got to have at least one sibling that knows how to smile." She scowled resolutely. The kitten frowned for a moment before shrugging. "Alright, then. I won't bring you any of the sweets I was going to pick up on my way back."

Eve couldn't help it. He had her attention now. "_Sweets?_"

"Yeah, there's this really dandy shop in Lilycove that I planned on stopping by. Best taffy in the world, among other things. I was going to share, but oh, well."

Taffy, taffy... taffy was chewy and sweet and very, very good. Eve's mouth watered at the thought, but she resolutely looked away. She would not be bribed with candy, damn it... "_Be safe this time?_"

Mew grinned. "Come on, what are you worried about? It's me!"

She couldn't help a small smirk. The opportunity was too good to pass up. "_That's what scares me._"

Mew gaped at her, wide eyed, as Anti started to laugh. "You left yourself wide open for that one," the phantom crowed.

"I can still hear your thoughts!" Eve turned to stare at Fervo, who was wandering off somewhere. She wondered if she should let him go.

"Fuck you," Flame yelled after him. Okay, what did that word mean? Eve thought about it for a moment, trying to remember ever hearing it back then. Once. Once she thought she could recall it being used. Wasn't that... wasn't that... wasn't that the word that got your mouth washed out with soap and an hour in the corner if you said it in front of grandma? Eve tilted her head to the side.

"_What does that one mean again?_"

Flame looked ready and willing to tell her until Anti launched an attack on his face, holding his mouth shut. "It means nothing," the phantom insisted. "Ignore this idiot."

Eve watched them, amused. "_It must mean something._"

Flame wriggled, and then held still. For half a second, she wondered if he had given up. "_It means-_" But the telepathy was cut short as Mew stared the Charmander straight in the eye. Flame's whole face lit up. "_Cake!_"

Eve stared at him. That was NOT what that word meant. "_Mew, what did you just tell him?_"

"Nothing, nothing... I never said a word..."

The hyperactive Umbreon picked that moment to remind everyone of his presence. "I like cake!"

Flame looked at the kit in horror before leaning over to whisper in his ear. Blacky's eyes got bigger and he nodded eagerly. Flame looked relieved. Eve smiled to herself. "_So what's it really mean?_" The relief vanished.

Mew sighed. "I'll tell you when you're older. Flame, try not to get yourself mutilated again while I'm gone."

"No worries, I got that Recover trick from the psychic radiation," Flame grinned cockily, but Mew was quick to burst his bubble.

"Don't count on it working," The tiny psychic pointed out as he started heading upwards, into the sky. "It has been known to stop working if people try and use it too much in a short space of time. And please, wash the rest of that blood off of you, you reek of the stuff."

Anti hurried up to catch up with Mew, laughing as he turned to wave at them. "I'm gonna see if ghosts can break the sound barrier," the phantom called down before shooting off into the distance. Mew watched him go before turning back to nod at them one last time.

"_You take care, kiddo. Keep everything under control._"

Eve nodded. "_I will!_" Then, with a perfectly straight face, she repeated his own words back to him. "_Come on, what are you worried about? It's me._"

The kitten stared at her a moment, shrugged, and headed off after the phantom.

Eve watched them go until they were out of sight, and kept staring at the sky until an "I'm pooped," sounded from the Umbreon kit. "I'm gonna take a nap with Uncle Fervo."

Flame smiled at the kit. "'Kay." Permission granted, Blacky headed off. Eve wondered again why no one could stand to stay in the same place. Flame looked pleased. "Things should be more interesting now that they're here."

"_Blacky seems nice._" Flame seemed startled for a moment before shaking it off.

"Well, I refused to let him turn out like me, and I'll do everything in my power to keep it that way." Eve blinked, staring down at him. She should think ending up like Flame wouldn't be so bad at all... Flame met her gaze. "What?"

"_What did you mean by refusing to let him turn out like you?_"

Flame finally looked away, towards the trees. "I didn't tell you that I found his mother murdered," His voice sounded choked, forced almost, "like my sister was when I was a kit myself. I couldn't allow him and Spiral to go through the same hell I did. I spent the best part of six years on my own, constantly haunted by the memory of seeing her die in front of me. Every time I look at my reflection and see my scar, I remember that moment. I wouldn't want anyone to suffer like I did. He had a second chance at life, I nearly lost my own life making sure that he got that chance. And I'd do it again without a second thought. I might not seem like the type, but I genuinely love him like he was my real family."

Eve stared at him for a long moment. Part of her was more than a little jealous of the Umbreon kit. Having Flame as family seemed like fun. He was laid back and adventurous and everything that her own guardian wasn't. "_If that's how it is, then I don't think turning out like you would be a bad thing at all._"

Flame was quiet as he stood back up. "I look after Blacky like my sister, Nina, looked after me. I actually envy you, you know? You might not see it, but Mew looks out for you like my sister did for me. He'd sacrifice himself if it would keep you alive, whereas I'm just another case for him, someone to bail out of trouble every week. Even Mewtwo isn't as bad as he seems. My brother left me and Nina to die the moment he was in danger. Mewtwo wouldn't. You might not like him for being an ass, but I want to kill my brother for abandoning me." Evetwo winced. She didn't have the heart to correct him on that one. Mewtwo would gladly leave her behind, wouldn't he? He'd never wanted to take her in in the first place. He'd made it so clear, so painfully, absolutely clear that he'd wanted nothing to do with her when they met. But he still kept an eye out for her anyway, didn't he? I watched you one day, he'd said. How often did he do that when she didn't even know he was there?

Better question, why couldn't she stop thinking about it? It was just bothering her...

Flame just went on, oblivious to her thoughts. "Do you know what that is like? I want to kill my own blood! I even share part of his name! I've had to lock my own feelings away for most of my life, hiding behind bravado and my temper. In reality, I'm only small and weak. The only power I have is the fireball trick my sister taught me."

The Charmander finally turned to look at her, and Eve was startled to see tears in his eyes. Her breath caught in her throat as her friend turned tail and ran. She chased after him as he headed towards the cliffs. "_Flame, come back!_" Finally, he slowed to a stop. "_Flame..._"

"I'm sorry," he gasped, as though he couldn't breathe. "The psychic radiation must be messing with my head. I'm supposed to be the stubborn one who doesn't let anything bother him, instead of bursting into tears and running away for no reason."

In other words, she should probably never bring this up again. "_You're okay, right?_"

Flame still had his back to her, but he was starting to sound a little better. "Yeah. Hungry though. You need to get some more of that cheese stuff."

Eve blinked. Well, it was a chance to change the subject, right? "_So it was you that raided my bag._"

"No, Fervo did. He then tried to force-feed me it so I wouldn't starve as we hitched a ride to another island. Just my luck, we landed on a Rocket base. Lucky that Mew distracted them from us by blowing up one of their bases."

If it weren't for bad luck, Eve didn't honestly think Flame would have any luck at all. Flame looked up at her abruptly. She had no idea what to say to him. What if she started another emotional landslide? The Charmander studied her a moment before grinning suddenly. Eve blinked. The little guy had teeth! But Flame's grin vanished as quickly as it had appeared, his whole body tensing up. Eve followed his gaze to the cliffs and felt her blood turn cold. Dozens of viscous blue _things_ were making their way up over the side of the rocky edge. Eve couldn't help it; a small screech escaped her. What, what, what was she dealing with now? She could just here Flame muttering a fairly obvious statement from near her feet. "Those don't look friendly."

As if in response, one of the things- tentacles? Arms?- shot off towards him, knocking the Charmander aside like he was a ragdoll. Eve turned to grab him and run when one of the things intercepted her, and she had to jump back to avoid it. The clone had to rise several inches into the air to avoid a second one that tried to knock her off of her feet. She threw up one of her barriers just in time as the arm-like projectiles made an attempt at sweeping her off of the cliff en mass. They paused for a moment, one or two of them prodding at the obstruction, before they started hammering down on it from all sides. Through her hazy barrier, she could just see Flame getting to his feet. She grunted slightly as several of the arms struck home at once, forcing her focus back on to her defenses. She wasn't sure how much longer she could hold this thing back, whatever it was...


	24. Big Slimy Mess

Somehow, this chapter came out shorter than it's Tales of Flame counterpart. I need work on battle scenes, aheh. It amuses me how, even in the middle of a fight, Eve and Mewtwo find time to argue with each other... Thankies to my reviewers, once again, including one fairly 'random' reviewer who keeps leaving anonymous reviews that I can't reply to so I can say thanks. Makes me angry, rawr. So let's go!

* * *

This was not good. Not good at all.

Through the barrier, Eve could see the arms beating against her defenses. And then a blur of orange-red shot through them, and just a few of the arms released their hold. It wasn't much, but it was enough that she could split her focus and form the beginnings of a shadow ball. She edged her way backwards as a piercing, screaming noise sounded from over the cliff. The forces trying to slam through her barrier were halved now, and she could just make out the others attacking an orange-red thing. Flame! It looked, not that she could tell very well, like he was on the defensive. She made her way back further before the shield gave out and fired into the waiting arm-things. The shadow ball ripped through them in a way that almost made her ill. Eve looked around. "_Flame?_"

"Yuck." Eve spun towards the voice. Hadn't she already looked over there? "I know I needed a bath, but this is just taking the piss." Finally she managed to spot the Charmander in the middle of the blue slime. If he was trying to clean himself off, it wasn't working. Eve felt slightly nauseated, so she turned her attention to the tentacle-arms, which seemed to have some sort of mental block as they swayed back and forth.

They gave her the creeps worse than bugs did, she decided, all waving and icky and now they were kind of bloody, too. She wondered vaguely if they could taste the air or something, waving back and forth like that. The didn't look like they had eyes or noses or mouths or anything. "_What are those things?_"

"The hell if I know. But whatever is controlling them is pissing me off and I haven't even met it yet," Flame, also, was watching the things warily. Eve frowned as a small rock next to him moved... and then one of the arms shot out of the ground, knocking the Charmander clear off his feet. "Crap!" He was dangerously near the edge, and Eve started to run forward when suddenly the arms decided they were interested in her again. She backpedaled and threw out an ice beam. Maybe if she could make them stop moving...

"_Not the water, please not the water._" Eve's head snapped up. Where was Flame? And then she heard yelling from over the side. "Go with the water! Go with the bloody water!" The clone growled. So much for that plan. The ice beam would take to long. She dropped back, charging up another shadow ball to rip through the arms, and followed the blast as it tore a pathway towards the edge. Now where did that thing have Flame...

Oh, ew!

The word that came to her mind was 'jellyfish.' But this was bigger and uglier than any jellyfish she'd ever seen in any books. The main body was huge and mostly blue, but it had a few big red spots on it, too, like big red gems. It also looked like it had some kind of beak. And tentacles. Now that she knew it was a jellyfish, they were definitely tentacles. Dozens of the things! Where the heck was Flame?

The jellyfish thing bellowed and slapped at her again. It was injured, and it was mad. The clone jumped, hovering over a stray tentacle that tried to knock her down. Where was the Charmander? She couldn't see him. She couldn't see anything, for that matter, but what was attacking her! Was there one of these things or two? She honestly couldn't tell. Growling softly, the clone stopped struggling and held perfectly still, drawing her energy. About five or six of the tentacles swarmed her, intent on dragging her down, only to meet her shock wave head-on. There was a screaming from the jellyfish, and it recoiled just enough for her to get a glimpse of Flame climbing out of the water below before attacking her again. Damn it, she had to get down there-

There was a sudden rush of air beside her as Scyther came out of nowhere, blades swinging. He was fast! Eve stared, stunned, as he laid waist to the tentacles around Flame. It was a mistake, as a blow to her side swept her clear off her feet. She tried to twist around and land on her feet, but it looked like the jellyfish would claim her too until another shadow ball ripped out of the trees, severing the arms that were approaching her. Eve felt herself settle to the ground instead of the painful collision she had been expecting. Telekinesis. "_Mewtwo!_"

The larger clone fired off another shot as he came into view, hardly glancing at her as he put himself between her and the giant jelly. "_Get to the trees._"

"_Flame fell over the edge!_"

"_Scyther will handle it. Get back!_"

Eve scrambled backwards as she got to her feet. "_What is that thing?_"

"_It is called a Tentacruel._" Mewtwo fought several of the arms back, answering her without looking at her. "_They can be vicious enough at a normal size, but this one is unusually large. It is also..._" Mewtwo paused a moment to evade a rather brutal-looking strike. "_It is also unusually driven. It is not attacking on a whim; it has been ordered to do so._"

Eve stared. "_How can you tell?_"

"_When a Tentacruel attacks out of anger, the orbs on its head glow. This one is not fueled by rage or territoriality; it is too focused. The orbs are not glowing._"

Jeez, he was a know-it-all sometimes. Eve frowned. As handy as the knowledge must have been, it would have been even handier if she could actually make sense out of it. "_And that means?_"

"_It means,_" Mewtwo sounded slightly annoyed, "_That someone knows we're here. I wonder how that happened._" His tone said that he didn't wonder at all. So did the glare he gave her over his shoulder. Great. Something else that was totally going to be her fault.

"_Oh..._" Eve shifted back towards the trees a bit, wondering if she could go down the other side of the cliff and help out from there. Anything was better than standing here doing nothing...

"_Get down!_" Eve squeaked as a shadow ball sailed over her shoulder. Mewtwo shot towards her, shoving her to the side as a second one of the jellyfish tried to climb over the side of the rocks. While they had been distracted with the first Tentacruel, a second had been making its way up the cliff side. Eve landed hard on her tail before struggling back to her feet. The hell she was going to sit there and let him protect her! Growling, she charged a shadow ball and launched it past him, into the reaching arms. Mewtwo turned back to look at her for about half a second. "_I told you to get back!_"

"_And let you have all the fun?_" Eve shot off another attack. "_It'll go faster if we work together._"

"_I do not need your help._"

"_Okay, fine. But they do!_"

"_Stay back!_"

"What's going on?"

If there was a god, Eve decided, he was sick and twisted and she wanted nothing to do with him at that moment. "_Blacky, look out!_" She kicked herself off of the ground and into the flailing arms that zoomed in on the kit, knocking one tentacle out of the way but taking a second to the stomach. The blow was cut in half as Mewtwo blasted the appendage in half. The Umbreon's eyes widened.

"What's going on," the youngster repeated, as though it wasn't perfectly clear. Well, Eve thought, maybe it wasn't. She wasn't sure she knew what was going on either.

"_Other than the obvious attack?_" The kit stared up at her with wide eyes. Eve grunted, trying to fight off another tentacle with an ice beam. Didn't he know when he and the Pokémon around him were under attack? Flame hadn't mentioned 'dumb as a rock' telling her about Blacky, had he?

"That looked like it hurt when it hit you!"

"_Hate to state the obvious, but..._" Eve growled as a second arm-like unit tried to snake it's way through to the kit. "_Don't just stand there! Every time you talk, they try and get to you! Start moving!_"

Blacky jumped to the side obediently. Eve glanced back towards Mewtwo. He was firing shots towards the core of the giant jelly, but there were too many arms; he couldn't land a clean hit. Every shot was intercepted, rather painfully, she though, by flailing tentacles. Eve frowned for a moment before taking to the air. She arced over the Tentacruel's head and fired an ice beam into it from behind. "_Hey, ugly! Over here!_"

Mewtwo's eyes actually widened as the giant jelly turned towards her. "_Get back to land! If it gets a hold of you there, it will drag you under!_"

"_And if we all stay over there, you can't get a clean shot to knock it out!_" Eve stayed where she was, dropping her arms to her sides. The Tentacruel took the bait and swarmed its tentacles towards her to pull her down, right into the charging shockwave. She must have taken down at least a dozen arms that time. The offending Pokémon flailed its remaining limbs wildly before trying to sweep her out of the air. Growling, Eve darted back, further over the water, evading its grasp. "_Come on, you stupid fish! Come and get me!_"

"_Evetwo, below you!_"

Eve squeaked at the sight of the second Tentacruel trying to grab at her from below. It turned away before it could catch her, however, in favor of a smaller target that made itself presentable. The clone's eyes widened as it went after Flame, but she didn't get to see how he responded as the tentacles from the jellyfish on the cliff side nearly caught up to her. She screeched lightly, darting further out of the way...

And then really screeched as a whole mess of it's arms exploded from it's body, splattering her with sticky goop. The giant jellyfish howled and turned on Mewtwo, right into the oncoming attack. Eve thought she was going to be sick as the shadow ball ripped through more tentacles and part of the main body. Writhing, the creature started to fall from the cliffs, only to stop short in a hazy blue glow. Eve's eyes widened as it howled again, an agonized, torturous screaming that cut into her ears and burned. "_Stop! You're going to kill it!_"

"_Better it than us,_" Mewtwo said solemnly, flinging the creature into the water. It lashed weakly with its tentacles before sinking, motionless, under the water. Eve swallowed hard. It had moved. It couldn't be dead if it had moved, right? She didn't have time to think of it as she felt herself yanked back to solid ground. "_You do not ever do that again!_"

Eve groaned as she pushed herself back to her feet. He had to be kidding, right? "_You wouldn't have been able to get a hit in if I hadn't and you know it._"

Mewtwo was livid. "_I would have found a way! What you did was reckless and dangerous and-_"

"Uncle Flame!"

Eve spun around. Even Mewtwo looked stunned and a little angry, probably for forgetting that they were still in the middle of a battle. The Umbreon kit was dangerously close to the edge of the cliffs, and he was... glowing? The golden rings around his body glowed vibrantly, even in the sunlight.

"_What's going on?_"

Mewtwo studied the kit intently for a moment before nodding as though in understanding of some obscure secret. She hated it when he did that. "_Step back. This will get messy._"

"_But what's going on? What's happening to him?_"

"_He is angry. Now you will see what a dark type really is._"

What in blazes was that supposed to mean?


	25. Overkill

And here we have the resolution of the last chapter's action. Hard to believe two tentacruel can do so much damage, but they do have eighty arms each. Yay, I got to write Blacky kicking ass and taking names! That makes for a happy Aeris.

* * *

"_Mewtwo, what is going on?_" Eve backed away from the Umbreon as the glowing got brighter still. Throwing back his head, the kit howled into the air, an earsplitting, hollow noise that made her head hurt. "_Blacky..._" The kit's whole body seemed to coil back before he launched himself off of the cliff. Eve's eyes widened. "_Blacky!_"

"_Let him go,_" Mewtwo commanded sharply.

"_But he could get killed!_"

"_Right now, he wouldn't be able to hear your reasoning anyway._" Eve ignored him, rushing to look down the edge. The Umbreon was practically flying down the rocks, leaping a jagged path. A narrow trail of gold left tribute to his passage, light that wasn't fast enough to hold him in place. She stared, stunned. The whole _feel_ of him had changed somehow, the energy in the air around him bending and undulating like a living thing in and of itself. She felt Mewtwo step up beside her, watching as the Umbreon dodged shots of some vile liquid that seemed to burn the very rocks. "_Of all the dark types, Umbreons are among of the most noble. Only the fierce loyalty of the more canine breeds can match an Umbreon's devotion when it finds something worth protecting. Blacky sees Flame as worth protecting, and that is what he will do._"

"_So what does that leave us with?_"

Mewtwo studied the scene below them for half a second- enough time for Flame to get swept into the ground. Eve's eyes widened as she peered down over the edge. When had the bug fallen? "_We need to get Scyther out of there. The attacks he has taken already could prove fatal. Another shot with the acid will break down his body armor and cripple him for sure, if it does not kill him._"

It annoyed her how Mewtwo could stand there thinking things through with such precision when every bone in her body wanted to just run down there. "_So we just grab him, right? Sounds easy._"

There was an annoyed '_tch_' that made her head snap up. "_It will not be that simple. We have to-_"

She didn't wait to hear what they would have to do. Mewtwo was just over-complicating things and taking time, however brief, that they didn't have. The Umbreon, whether deliberately or not, was getting closer to the prone insect- and so were the splatters of acid. Growling softly, Eve stepped over the edge, dropping down to the ground below. All she had to do was get over there... "Uncle!"

Of course, she could also play follow the bouncing Flame. She winced as the Charmander hit the ground a few yards in front of her. The fire type brushed himself up, pulling a vicious rock out of his shoulder before looking towards Scyther. "I thought it was me who was supposed to get horribly injured in a scrap, you're the one who was supposed to kill everything,"

Eve scrambled over a few of the rocks, trying to get to them before the Tentacruel did. Flame's head snapped up and he spun towards her, choking slightly. Maybe she should have tried giving him some warning. "_Are you okay?_"

The Charmander scowled lightly for a moment before his eyes widened. "Eve," he mumbled, with the slightest edge of fear in his voice. "Duck."

Eve tensed up. Even as he said the words, she could feel something behind her; probably one of the spitting arms. But if she ducked, didn't that mean Flame and Scyther would get hit with the acid blasts instead? She eyed the insect speculatively. His back was sizzling slightly. Mewtwo, as much as she hated to admit it, was right. He couldn't take another blast like that.

Slowly, she positioned her hands to charge a shadow ball. This was simple. She couldn't move, so she had to hit it before it hit her. Right? She just needed to trust in her own strength and speed and splatter this stupid thing!

She never got the chance. Even as she turned to fire, a black and gold blur launched itself at the stray tentacle at the same time as a fully formed shadow ball arched down from the cliffs. Between the two, the appendage came out of it horribly mangled and about eight feet away from the main body. Eve found herself staring at the mangled stump. Her attack fizzled out as she turned back towards Flame. "_That's just disgusting..._"

"Oh, no!" Flame edged away. "This is not a good time to get sick!"

"_I know, I know!_" Eve shook herself slightly. "_Listen, we've gotta get your friend there back up the cliffs. It doesn't look like that thing can shoot that high-_"

"What happened to the other one?"

"_You don't want to know._" Eve tried to prod the bug awake, but only succeeded in burning herself on the sticky, acidic slime that laced the insect's body. She squeaked slightly, startled, and plunged her burning hand into the water. "_Well, that's inconvenient! Now what?_"

The Charmander stared at her in disbelief. "You're psychic, aren't you? Try moving him that way!"

Eve winced. _"I've never actually tried telekinesis on another living creature before, okay?_" She checked the rocks above her, and then the air. Where had Mewtwo gone? She groaned softly. This would have been easy work for him, but he was nowhere in sight. She glanced back at the Tentacruel. Blacky was doing okay at distracting it. Hell, Blacky was doing great at distracting it. The Tentacruel seemed to have forgotten their existence entirely in its efforts to catch the cunning, unbelievably fast kit.

Flame was staring at her, gauging her size with a speculative eye. "Eve, could you carry him up there if we got the acid off of him?"

Could she what? Eve frowned. She was bigger than Scyther, but how was she supposed to manage with those blades of his? That and the more obvious problem of the acid... and the fact that the idea gave her the creeps. "_I dunno. Probably. But we'd have to get the acid off of him first. How are we going to manage that?_"

If she wasn't so used to Mewtwo, the look Flame gave her would have made her cringe. He pointed at the ocean. "How about we use that?"

Wouldn't an unconscious insect sort of kind of drown? Eve groaned inwardly. "_How do we get him in there?_"

"We don't," Flame said matter-of-factly. The clone felt a moment's relief before the Charmander continued. "You get in the water and splash some over him. It'll wash most off and weaken the rest."

With that thing? Eve sighed. She knew what the answer was going to be, but she asked anyway. "_Can't you do it?_"

"I'm still feeling the cold from when I had a swim earlier, it's too risky for me to try again. Besides, you need to wash that slime off of you sometime." Flame almost sounded a little too cocky there, and she debated arguing before sighing again. It really was the only thing to do, wasn't it? She glanced quickly back at the Tentacruel, and immediately wished she hadn't. Growling softly, she plunged herself into the water, making a note to point out that the water was just as messy as she was, thank you very much.

"_So I just splash him a bit, right?_"

"Right," Flame nodded an affirmative. "It might wake him up, too, which'd save you a job."

Eve scowled to herself as she flicked water over the bug. The acid seemed to be rinsing off, but the fact of the matter was, it wasn't working nearly as effective as it should. She had to get more of it on him, in one go. She frowned thoughtfully, lashing her tail through the water, and then stopped to stare at the little waves it made. Maybe that would work? She turned her body slightly and hit the water as hard as she could with her tail, grinning at the wave it made. That definitely worked... maybe a little too well, even. "_Whoops. Sorry, I splashed too hard._"

"The hell you did." Flame glowered at her. "You did that on purpose." Eve winced as he growled softly, emitting smoke.

"_I swear, I did not. I promise._" She held her hands up, trying to emphasize her point of not guilty. "_I was just trying to get more water on him. You might want to step back. I think I have to do it again._"

Flame scowled and opened his mouth, but whatever he was trying to say was lost in a horrendous scream. Eve tried her best to cover her ears as the Tentacruel flailed in pain, screaming horribly. She could just see the Umbreon perched on a small outshoot of rock, and how the ledge had even survived was beyond her, staring down at it with an uncanny knowing look that didn't fit at all with the Blacky she knew. The dark type- and he was certainly no kit right now- called down saucily to the writhing jelly below. "Give up and leave now and maybe I won't have to kill you!" In response, the Tentacruel screeched, rising to its full height out of the water. It must have been as big as she was at least. Blacky smirked as the beast fired a jet of water at him, intending on smashing it into the cliffs. "So be it."

"Blacky!" She could almost hear Flame crying out to the Umbreon, was aware of what he was saying but didn't really care. The water crashed into the side of the cliffs, but she could just see a golden light within it. It pulsed at first, then grew steadier and brighter until the water around it seemed to shadow, and the light tore away from the cliff side. Eve's breath caught in her throat as the bolt of gold tore through the lower body of the jellyfish in a single shot. The giant head bellowed, and then was silent as the bolt seemed to turn in midair, shooting back the way it came to land on the rocks once more. Blacky.

Eve turned away as the jellyfish sank below the waves, retching slightly, and re-aquatinted herself with the chocolate bar she'd eaten for breakfast. She could hear Blacky call something down to the Tentacruel from the cliffs and vaguely wondered what the point was. It was clear it was dead, after all. Leaning on a rock for support, she took a few shaky breaths. It had been over so quickly, so brutally. Too quickly, too brutally... Behind her, Flame shouted out to the Umbreon. She could hear him scrambling over the rocks towards the kit. Was he a kit? Could any youth fight like that?

"_You have never seen death before._" It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Eve stared down at the rock she was holding on to before pushing herself up to a standing position. The other clone watched her for a moment before turning to examine the bug. "_You have done well to get the acid off of him._"

She ignored the faint praise for the sole reason that she was mad at him. "_Where the hell were you?_"

"_That language is inappropriate_," Mewtwo chided. "_As for your question, I was finding the source of our little visitors._"

"_Source?_"

He nodded, motioning with his head to a mangled mass of metal dashed onto the rocks. "_Apparently, Team Rocket has decided that we are too dangerous to send actual humans after. The Tentacruel were released from that drone. It is no longer functional._"

"_I would imagine not,_" Eve muttered, poking slightly at Scyther. As much as she knew there was a way to get out of it now, her own stubbornness wouldn't let her ask for help getting the insect up the cliffs. Growling softly, she heaved the bug up, trying to hoist him onto her shoulder. She shifted in an attempt to get some semblance of balance before eyeing the rocks above her. She'd flown with a backpack before, this was just the same thing only heavier, right? Eve winced at the thought. Heavier was right. Much, much heavier. She stared at the cliffs, tried to quiet her mind, and then squeaked as she lifted off the ground before actually trying to. "_I can do it myself!_" Mewtwo ignored her, not saying a word until she'd been deposited on higher ground. She glared quietly at him for a moment before trying to figure out how to set Scyther down without just dropping him on his head. Finally, she felt the bug lift away from her shoulders and settle to the ground. She glared again. "_I'm not thanking you for that._"

"_I did not expect you to._"

Then why did you do it, she wondered irritably. Better not to ask, though. Kneeling down, she prodded Scyther gingerly. He didn't have the smoking burn thing going on any more, and for half a second she thought his eyes might have opened just a little before drifting shut again. "He's going to live, right?"

"He will."

She nodded briefly. "Good." Then, still staring at the bug, Eve gave voice to at least one of the thoughts that was troubling her. "So that was a true dark type?"

Mewtwo was thoughtfully silent as she made her way over to stand near him, stepping gingerly in an attempt to avoid slipping on the remnants of the jellies. He only spoke when they were side by side, and then it was in the clear, even 'voice' meant for her alone. "That was the power of the dark type, yes. But I do not believe the kit is aware of this power."

Eve blinked as the section of rock Flame and Blacky were sitting on detached itself from the face of the cliff. "How what now?"  
Her stoic companion sighed, and Eve winced. That had not been the most intelligent way she could have voiced that question. Mewtwo's gaze remained focused on the stone slab he was lifting even as he answered the misworded inquiry. "Had you been more focused, you would have felt the kit's mind shifted during that episode. He was not thinking as he normally does. Right now his mental conditioning is back to its usual state. He is not distressed or emotionally worn by what just happened. I do not believe he remembers it." The stone settled to the ground some ten feet away from them, and Mewtwo's eyes finally met hers. "I think it would be wise to keep what we saw the kit do to ourselves, at least until we have some confirmation that his memory is gone."

Eve nodded. "Yeah... okay, then..." Blacky tried to approach them, but Flame stopped him before he could step in a pile of acid that had dripped off the stone. The kit was active, even bouncy. He really didn't seem bothered...

Flame tried to make his way off of the rock, only to slip in the gruesome remains. As Eve watched, the Umbreon tried to follow suit, and succeeded in a way when he landed hard on his adopted uncle. Flame grumbled a minute before staring up at them. "We're fine! Thanks for caring!"

Blacky bound to his feet again. "Hey! Do you know what happened down there, Eve?" The kit's ear flicked, probably tickled by the blood and gore trickling down it. Eve gulped, trembling slightly. Just looking at him was making her ill.

Mewtwo stepped forward in her place. "You should get that cleaned off. The scent of blood attracts predators, like those Tentacruel. They were probably drawn here by blood from fish that a nearby Seel colony hunts."

Eve stared at him in disbelief. He'd just lied as easily as he was breathing! The Umbreon stared at him, and then at her, and then at Mewtwo again, and for a minute she was certain the kit hadn't fallen for it- until he spoke again. "She looks sick. Is she sick?"

"The blood is nauseating to her."

The kit tilted his head curiously, but before he could open his mouth again Eve heard a shuffling behind her. Flame started to laugh, making his way over as the insect lifted his head. "About time you woke up!"

Scyther, it appeared, had a one-track mind as he stared up at them all. He looked lanky and feeble, trying and failing to push himself up any more than a few inches. "The Tentacruel?"

Flame was grinning toothily. "Gone."

The bladed insect looked thoughtful. "The robot that sent them?"

"Destroyed," Mewtwo said with a nod. Eve wondered vaguely how he knew about the robot. Hadn't he been out cold? She'd been certain he'd been unconscious when Mewtwo had told her about the machine he'd found.

"How much damage was done?" Eve frowned to herself. He was all torn up, and he seemed to care more about the rest of them than the fact that he could barely keep his head up. Maybe, just maybe, this bug wasn't so bad.

"What is left of the cliff is coated in acid and you took a beating. That's about it, that I know of." The bug nodded to Flame, his eyes starting to drift. Eve felt her chest tighten a moment, but he only drifted back into unconsciousness. She frowned, feeling slightly ashamed for being afraid of him. How much strength had it taken just to be sure things were all right again?

Blacky, unconcerned as ever, was looking up at them all again. "We're a mess," he announced with some sense of childish pride. Then, his head tilted at one side, he looked at Mewtwo curiously. "Except for you. How come you're not a mess?"

"I am more careful than they are," Mewtwo informed the kit dryly. Blacky nodded, his mouth forming a little 'o' shape, as Mewtwo apparently decided he'd had enough and turned to walk away. There was a soft zinging noise and then a wet splat as a handful of blue slime struck him in the back of the head.

Very slowly, Mewtwo turned around and stared- at her. Eve squeaked and started to try to tell him that she hadn't done it, but Mewtwo cut her off. "Never, ever do that again!" He glared at her until she nodded meekly, and then turned to storm off. Scowling, Eve bent down and scooped up the largest handful of slime she could get, flinging it as hard as she possibly could at Mewtwo's retreating back. It made a lovely splattering noise, and she felt smug for about two seconds until a psychic blast knocked her off of her feet. Eve yelped slightly as she landed rather painfully on her tail.

"Ow..."

"I warned you not to try that again."

Eve summoned up the best I'm-mad-and-you're-gonna-know-about-it look that she could and replied, scathingly, "Then next time I'll make sure I did it the first time."

Flame and Blacky were still laughing at Mewtwo's startled expression when he finally disappeared into the trees. Eve couldn't help it. She laughed along.


	26. Sunsets

Okay... um... yesterday, heavens forgive me, I was in a really really good mood, and it kinda got into the chapter. Apparently I felt like writing something poetic. And also I wanted to make it up to those people who got very vivid mental images of the carnage last chapter, which apparently some of you did. So the end of this chapter is kinda... flowery frou-frou. Sorry... I was at peace with the world... On another note, this is a good chapter for laughing at poor Eve's misfortunes.

* * *

When she thought about it, she didn't really know when, if ever, she'd laughed this hard. Certainly not since, well, she became like this. Never in this new lifetime had she had anything to laugh about this way, until her chest hurt and she could hardly breathe. She'd probably get scolded for this later, having to sit through another lecture, but she didn't really mind. It felt so good to laugh.

Finally, Eve managed to catch her breath. Shaking slightly, she looked over at Flame and Blacky as they settled down. Flame took a few deep breaths. Blacky was nearly in tears. Eve looked them over, shaking her head. "_We're all a mess. We need to clean up._"

"We'd better move Scyther away from the cliffs first," Flame said with a nod. He had a good point. It wasn't safe here any more.

Eve looked at the insect thoughtfully. Of course, the best place would be there. That was always the best place for someone who was injured on her little island. "_I think we should get him to my room. It's safest there._"

Blacky tilted his head to one side. "Didn't you say that you didn't like bugs?" Flame looked startled. Eve knelt down next to the unconscious Scyther, remembering again how concerned he'd been for them, but not at all for himself. He hadn't been worried about his own injuries, he'd wanted to know that they were safe instead. Eve would have bet that that sort of concern was what got him hurt in the first place.

"_They can't all be bad,_" she replied stubbornly.

Flame was quick to jump in. "True. Scyther's helped me out a lot. From the looks he was giving fuckwit central a little while ago, while you were talking to Mew, he was helping you out too." Giving what now? Eve was going to ask, but Blacky voiced a question first.

"Do I help?" It was like someone had squeezed her chest. Eve shook, trying to free herself of the memory of that angry golden light. The action alarmed the kit. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Eve'll be fine," Flame said firmly, not leaving any room for her to answer. "Anyway, we better get you cleaned up. Eve, is there an easy way to the ocean that isn't near here?"

She nodded weakly, trying to keep her stomach under control. "_Just head that way,_" she mumbled, pointing towards the path to the pebble beach. She had to get it together, damn it! She couldn't have Blacky asking too many questions!

"Kay," Flame affirmed from behind her. "You sure you can get Scyther to your cave?"

Probably not, Eve thought ruefully, eyeing his blades in dismay. But she was going to try! Of course, that'd never fly with the Charmander... "_I'll manage,_" she said flippantly, as though it was nothing at all.

Once Flame and Blacky had wandered off, Eve turned to stare down at Scyther. How was she supposed to move all this buggy dead weight again? She sighed. She really, really needed to learn to use telekinesis the way Mewtwo did. Frowning, she picked the bug up by his upper body in an attempt to get him back on her shoulder, and promptly dropped him when a blade hit her cheek. "_Ow..._" Frowning, she reached up to touch her face, and then drew her hand back in shock. Was that all it took for those things to cut? It stung, too! Eve stared at the blood on her hand. "_You know, you're lucky I'm getting used to you, or that'd be it._" No reply. She hadn't expected one anyway. "_Okay. Let's try this again._" She stooped down and tried hoisting him up again. There. That worked well. "_Okay. We're getting somewhere. Now just hold tight._"

Unfortunately, actually walking seemed to be a problem in and of itself. The first few steps were fine; all she had to do was shuffle her feet. And then she came to a root. She stopped, staring at it. If she tried to step over it, she might end up falling forward. If she tried to go around it, she might trip on a clump of grass or something. The stupid root was blocking the clearest path she had to the caves. Fighting to keep steady, Eve nudged it with her foot, and then tried stepping over it.

One painful crash later, she was checking Scyther over for damage, amazed that he didn't cut himself. Then again, he'd pretty much landed on her. As she surveyed the non-existent damage on the insect she found herself becoming aware of a stinging on her back. Great. More blade damage, just what she needed. Eve scowled, and then hissed slightly as the stinging pain flared sharply before dulling again. She must have pulled a muscle or something. Come to think of it, her whole body ached pretty badly. She held still a moment, focusing on her recover ability. It took care of most of the pain, but there was still a nagging discomfort in her middle. If she thought about it, she vaguely recalled being beaten in the stomach trying to defend Blacky before he went... whatever... on them. Eve stretched experimentally. The pain in her back was gone. Third time was the charm, right? Once more she hefted the heavy bug up onto her shoulders and worked her way to her feet. "_Now we try to go further than ten feet. Sound good?_"

And they did. Eve actually managed about fifteen feet before she realized the bug was slipping and had to set him down before she dropped him. The clone tilted her head thoughtfully, rotating her shoulder a bit to keep it from turning stiff. There had to be an easier way to do this. She could always try her telekinesis, but with her lack of experience in that area she'd probably hurt him somehow. Likewise, she could get one of her blankets and drag him on it, but dragging something through the trees sounded kind of risky. This way she at least had some control over what he bumped in to. Eve sighed. Sure, there were easier ways for her to do this. But they weren't good ways, so she was stuck with carrying him. She bent down and heaved the bug onto her shoulders again. It seemed like he got heavier every time she lifted him! "_This sucks. What do you eat, anyway?_"

Evetwo had to stop four more times before she so much as made it to the clearing. Finally she was able to rest the prone insect in the grass to congratulate herself- until she realized that the hard part hadn't even started yet. Dismayed, Eve stared at the opening to the caves. She'd gotten him here, and in one piece, but how in the world did they expect her to get him down there? She was just about ready to call it quits when she remembered the doubtful tone in Flame's voice when he'd asked if she was sure she could do this. The answer she'd given him then had been half-hearted, but now she stared at the stairs with new determination. "_I can, too,_" she muttered to herself as she went to examine the way down. Nothing was blocking the stairs. Nothing was in her way on the way to the stairs. Nothing was down in the caves to impede her. Which meant there was no reason to be thrown off. Stubbornly, Eve walked over and scooped up the bug one more time, resolutely making her way across the clearing and to the entryway into the caves. Now came the part that required some focus. Her new confidence waned a bit as she contemplated going downwards without pitching forward. How to do this, how to do...

When Mewtwo had helped her up the cliffs, he'd been lifting her, not Scyther. She wasn't confident enough to try lifting another Pokémon, but she could certainly get herself off the ground. Flying was easy, just up and down, side to side. Getting down the stairs should be a breeze. Getting through the forest probably would have been easier, too, Eve realized with a dry grin. Oh, well, too late now. Eve let her feet drift just a few inches up off of the ground, and then focused on going downwards, into the caves below.

It was working fine, really it was. Sure, it was kind of slow going, rushing was not an option, but it was going nevertheless. She made it a quarter of the way down, and then half way, and then three-quarters, only a few feet to go, and she wasn't sure what startled her, but something did. Something moved, or made a sound, or something along those lines, and her focus just broke. Eve squealed, falling forwards down the last few steps and landing hard on the ground below. The squeal turned into a whimper as the bug landed hard in front of her. Great. Just perfect. At least he hadn't bounced down the stairs the way she had. Still whimpering softly to herself, Eve closed her eyes and rested her head on her arms. Her leg hurt now, she'd landed on it wrong when her body hit the floor. Yeah, the clone decided, this was turning into a miserable day in general. Wasn't it over yet?

"Next time Scyther would rather just stay above ground."

Eve's eyes snapped open from her self-pity. She raised her head. "_You're awake?_" Yes, his eyes were definitely open. "_Why didn't you say anything up there?_"

"Miss Eve seemed very determined," The insect said in his funny way. "Scyther thought it was best to just keep quiet. Scyther did not know it would end with a drop on Scyther's head." He sounded as tired as she felt.

"_Sorry..._" Eve shifted a moment, trying to figure out just how she was lying before she pushed herself up, hissing softly. All the aches and pains she'd recovered away were back with a vengeance. Not fun. Somewhat annoyed at her own aches and pains, she got herself back up to her feet and stretched out. "_If I help you, do you think you can stand?_"

The bug looked thoughtful for a moment before pushing his upper body up slowly with his bladed forearms. Just as slowly and without her help, he rose to his feet. "Scyther can stand, yes."

"_Can you walk?_"

Scyther hemmed softly for a moment. "Scyther may need help with that," he said at last. Eve nodded.

"_Try leaning on my shoulder. We want to get to that room over there, that's my room. You'll be able to rest there._" The bug nodded an acquiescence, and they started walking. It was definitely easier to move him this way. Step by step, she finally got him to the doorway of her room and stopped. There was a green lump situated on her big quilt. Eve twitched, annoyed. While they were all fighting for life and freedom, the Treecko had been in her room, asleep! Why did that just figure? Scowling, she focused on the quilt, yanking it out from under him. Fervo tumbled to the ground, waking up in the process.

"Ow." He sounded just a little irritated. Eve ignored him and helped Scyther in towards the soft nest she slept on. The Treecko stared groggily at them, and then his eyes widened. "What the hell happened to you?"

"_We were fighting,_" she said, a bit more snappishly than she intended. Oh, well. She'd already dumped him off the quilt, what was a little more anger? "_If you don't mind, Scyther should sit there._"

The Treecko nodded, his eyes still larger than normal, and scooted to the side while she helped Scyther over to the bedding. "_There. Does that work?_"

The giant bug nodded. "That will work, yes." Eve stood up, wondering if she should try recovering again. Her body was sore from the tumble, and there was that dull ache in her stomach that wouldn't go away. Frowning, she went to dig through her backpack and pulled a chunk of bread off of the stolen loaf. She had thrown up earlier, so maybe the discomfort was because of hunger. She stared at the snack in her hand for a second, and then put it back. She'd stick with the hunger; she had no stomach for food right then.

"_Evetwo._"

Eve's head snapped up. Oh, great. Mewtwo's voice had an edge to it that told her that while he was intent on something else at the moment, he was still angry with her. It also had that cursed clarity to it that she wasn't allowed to ignore. Sighing, she headed out into the main chamber, trying to look innocent and unassuming. "_Yes?_"

He met her at the doorway, studying her mutely for a moment before speaking. "_Flame and Blacky will be down momentarily. We have matters to discuss._"

She started to reply, but was distracted by a loud, violent crashing as Flame and then Blacky tumbled headlong down the stairs. Eve winced- she could commiserate, especially when Blacky landed square on Flame's back. "Ow..." the Charmander muttered. "Fuck..."

"Cake!" Blacky replied gleefully. Mewtwo raised an eyebrow for a moment.

"_Do I wish to know?_" He was 'whispering' again, so Eve replied in kind.

"_Not really._" There was a bump at the back of her legs- Fervo had gotten up and was watching Flame and Blacky from behind her. For a moment, Flame's eyes had an eerie glint in them, and then he got to his feet, the kit bounding after him, and approached them slowly and calmly. Too slowly and too calmly. Eve braced herself, but Flame ignored her as he dove for the green lizard, grabbing him by the neck and pinning him to the wall behind her.

"Where the hell were you?"

Fervo gasped, both from shock and sudden pressure on his windpipe. "I was resting," he managed to choke out. Flame glared at him, and for a moment it looked like he was going to choke the life out of the Treecko. Eve tensed up slightly.

"We were fighting for our lives while you were resting?" the Charmander growled a moment before stopping and staring up at the rest of them, as though he'd only just remembered that they were there. He stared at Blacky a moment before dropping Fervo and making his way into her room.

"_You should go get yourself cleaned up._"

Eve blinked and stared up at Mewtwo. He was watching her with one of those damnably placid, super-composed expressions that she couldn't read. "_Are you sure?_"

He nodded. "_Go, and I will see to things here._"

For a moment the reply made her a bit edgy, but she shrugged it off and headed back up the stairs. A part of her wanted to stay. After all, she knew he didn't like their 'guests' at all. At the top, she found the source of Flame and Blacky's tumble- she, who hadn't had a chance to actually bathe yet, had dripped a bit of blue goo. There were skid marks in it- the Charmander had slipped. Or maybe the Umbreon had slipped. Or both. She couldn't tell. Sighing, she made a mental note to apologize later and headed for the pebble beach. She needed to get this stuff off of her.

The sun was starting to set. She could actually watch it going down over the water, which was blissfully clean and clear. Eve dove in headfirst and came up scrubbing at her hair with her hands. The short fur on the rest of her body cleaned easily, but her hair was hell to get anything out of, let alone semi-dried slime. It fell off in clumps at first, and then as a slow drizzle as the water restored it's fluidity. Eve growled. She would get this gunk out. All of it!

By the time she'd finished, the great ball in the sky was resting on the horizon and the sky was starting to turn colors. Pinks, reds, oranges, and purples streaked across the vast expanse, reaching out towards the darkening blues behind her. Making her way out of the water, Eve sat quietly on the stones of the beach to watch. She deserved this little peace at least, didn't she? This whole day had been so rough, on her and on everyone else. She shivered slightly as a light breeze picked up, but didn't move from where she sat. Who knew, maybe the wind would help her fur dry. Eve flopped backwards against a rock, using it as a backrest, quiet as she stared skyward. Soft streaks of cloud reflected the dying rays of the sun, vibrant and golden-soft among the fiery reds and oranges. Tendrils of crimson and vermilion reached into the darkening indigo of the night sky, only to be called back by the waning light as the sun slipped down, down, down, over the horizon. From her place on the lonely beach, it looked to Eve as though the sea had swallowed the sun, consuming the light and warmth of the waning globe in an effort to claim such beauties for itself. It was a strangely poetic thought. She rather liked it.

The reds and oranges were dying now, giving way to the blues and blacks of the night sky. It reflected as a dull slate gray on the water. Eve let her mind drift as she waited for the stars to come out. She was a little surprised Mewtwo hadn't told her off yet for throwing that sludge at him. He'd certainly given her a look to beat hell, and he'd knocked her down pretty solidly, but the lecture hadn't come yet. Then again, everyone else had been there to watch, and he wasn't the type to chew her out in public. He'd probably meet her on the way back to the caves and scold her then. That in mind, she stayed where she was sitting. Sure, after a while he'd probably come find her, knowing Mewtwo, but at least this way she could put it off for as long as possible.

The sunset faded into nothingness, and Eve watched the stars appear one by one. She considered making a wish on the first bright star of the evening, but there were so many things she wanted from life that she didn't even know where to begin, so she let it go. The starlight reflected down on the caps of the waves in the distance and the foam washing up around her feet, slivers of silver lace on the icy waters. A gust of wind caught her, and she shivered. She ought to go back to the caves now, before she caught a cold. Her fur had dried just fine, but her hair was still damp, and that seemed like a good way to get sick. She stood, brushing herself off for a moment, and headed back towards the caves. Mewtwo did not stop her along the way.


	27. Revelations

Well, we finally got this site to not eat the chapters! This should have been up yesterday, but something went wrong. Um... longish chapter today. We get to see one of Eve's dreams for the first time. Wow. So let's go!

* * *

It was definitely getting cold out. Evetwo rubbed her arms slightly as she made her way back through the trees towards the caves. It was one of those nights when the wind blew in off of the water and made everything cold. Frowning, she walked a bit faster. Mewtwo still hadn't come to lecture her. Maybe he thought knocking her on her tail had been punishment enough? Approaching the caves, Eve paused a moment to listen to the stillness in the air one more time before sighing. Mewtwo had said there would be things to discuss. She should probably head inside.

Heading down the steps, Eve heard angry shouts from her room. Flame's voice, and Fervo's, having it out again. She sped up just in time to hear Fervo yell, "There's no Mew around to make you see sense when you turn traitor on us!"

She ran into the room in time to dodge a fireball that sailed over Fervo's head. Shrieking slightly, she ran forward in an attempt to catch one or the other of the two lizards, only to have to leap back again as Flame fired off another fireball. Eve had the strangest suspicion that if her hair hadn't been wet, it would have caught fire. "_Stop it!_"

"Yeah, I'm really going to stop getting out of the way!" Fervo snapped. Eve shifted. Flame looked pissed, Fervo looked just as bad, Scyther was in no condition to interfere, where was the Umbreon? The clone gritted her teeth. Well, fine, if she had to break this up, she would. The Charmander looked ready to lob another fireball. Eve stared at the shelf behind him, intent on her hairbrush. Maybe if she clocked him hard enough, he'd come to his senses... Or he'd just get pissed, one or the other. Ah, damn... Eve winced as Flame shot, of all things, a shadow ball at Fervo. Fervo jammed the attack with a dark blast of his own. Eve coughed, forcing her way through the smoke in time to see Flame readying another blast. There was no way Fervo could see it coming- everything below four feet or so off the ground was hazed by smoke- so Eve took a chance and sent the brush flying from the shelf, hitting the Charmander hard in the back of the head with the silver instrument. He fell face-first, the ball rebounding off the rocky floor and into his own face. Eve winced. She hadn't meant to do that...

The smoke was starting to clear, and Eve could just see Fervo getting ready to lash back. Her eyes darted around the room. The nearest object was her precious book. She winced a moment, and then let it fly, catching the Treecko in the stomach and effectively halting his attack. "_Okay. Can we please settle things down now?_"

There was a shuffling from the quilts by Scyther. "Eve!" Eve turned. So that's where the kit had been hiding! "That was cool! Can you teach me how to do that?"

Scyther shook his head. "Scyther doubts that Blacky can learn telekinesis." The kits face fell, and Scyther quickly amended the statement, "but there is no harm in trying. If Miss Eve'll agree to it."

She had to know. "_Why do you talk like that? It's been bugging me._" Even as she said it, she winced. That had been bad, even for her.

The bug didn't seem to mind. "Tradition. A Scyther would always speak in the third person when training."

"_That seems... kinda stupid._"

"Scyther thought so too when Scyther was a kit, but when in a cage for a long time, even the stupidest ideas are enough to keep sanity from cracking."

Eve nodded slightly, remembering all the times she'd looked forward to Cheryl visiting her just so she could escape the bleakness of her own existence, if only for a few minutes. That enclosure with its blank walls and that one damn mirror would have done her in if they'd kept her there too long. "_Yeah... I know what you mean..._"

There was a sudden scuffling from the two lizards. Scowling, Eve glanced around for the brush and book. The book was no good- Flame had just launched a fireball. Fervo opted for a different approach- "Absorb!"

The Charmander was cursing now and the Treecko was trying not to catch fire as Eve glanced around her for anything that could help. Scyther was wrapped up in her quilt, but there was always the down comforter. She grabbed it and threw it, catching Fervo and Fervo off guard. They both yelled at the sudden darkness and weight over their bodies, but while one lump flailed in an attempt to get out from under the heavy cloth, the other was startlingly still. Eve's eyes widened. "_Don't you dare start a fire in here, Flame!_"

"Then get this damn thing off me!" Yes, Flame was definitely the one who'd been holding still. Eve glanced around. Hitting him with the mirror could hurt him if the glass broke, but her brush was somewhere under the comforter. She heard a distinct ripping sound from Fervo's side. Aw, jeez. How would Mewtwo handle this? Scratch that thought, she told herself furiously. She didn't need to do things his way, ever. Where the hell was he, anyway?

"_I'm not letting either of you go until you stop trying to trash my home,_" she said firmly, hoping she at least sounded suitably annoyed.

There was a scoffing sound from Fervo's end. "I'm not the one trashing everything. I'm not the one attempting to kill the other. So blame hothead here for the damage." Flame's end of the comforter shifted. "He tries to solve things with violence, anything that he can't then he runs away. Then he goes and makes things worse by falling for another Charmander- one that tricked him into being a Rocket."

Eve hissed sharply. Flame had been... But that couldn't be right! Eve shook her head. "_Don't be stupid... that... that couldn't be right._"

"You can read minds, too," Fervo taunted. "Go look for yourself. If he has nothing to hide, then he shouldn't object."

Eve stared for a moment. Yes, she could read minds, but she didn't like it. She took a deep breath. Flame wasn't protesting on his end. She could at least try...

She didn't know what she was expecting, but it wasn't the mess of images she got. Eve's eyes widened. It all started the same as one of the stories he'd tried to tell her. "_That can't be true,_" she sputtered, shocked. "_Flame wouldn't do that!_"

Fervo was working his way to the edge. "Then how is it that Scyther is not denying it? He knew Flame at the time."

Eve looked at the big insect pleadingly. Scyther's head was hanging. "It did happen," he admitted quietly.

Not Flame. No way. "_No! He couldn't have been with them._"

Scyther sat up. "Flame was brainwashed," he said firmly. "Flame isn't the first that Team Rocket tricked that way. Scyther nearly fell for the same thing before Flame helped Scyther escape the Rockets. And Flame saved everyone from a massive Dragonite, then from being poisoned. Flame fought them in Lavender, saving Mew. Scyther trusts Flame and sees no reason to change that."

Eve took a deep breath, nodding even though the Charmander couldn't see it. "_I trust Flame, too,_" she said softly. "_My only real human friend is the woman... the Rocket... who set me free. She wasn't one of them because she was a bad person, I know she wasn't. She took care of me when the other humans were cruel, and gave me my name. I don't know what her motives were for joining Team Rocket, but I know she had a good heart, and I think Flame does, too._"

Flame managed to choke a reply telepathically. "_Does that mean that you'll take this thing off now? I'm kinda suffocating under here."_ Eve smiled slightly as the Charmander paused a moment before grudgingly adding, "_Thank you._" It couldn't hurt to move the blanket now, could it? She tugged the comforter off, revealing a Charmander gasping for air and a perfectly oriented Treecko. Flame nodded to her, but Fervo had an eerie smirk on his face. Eve froze up when she noticed his paw clenched around something, but it only proved to be a few blades of grass. Eve frowned. "_What-_"

And then Fervo put the grass up to his mouth and started to blow on it. Eve froze up, expecting the noise to be sharp and shrill- where did she remember that from? - but it was actually rather pleasant. It flowed through the small room like a warm wind, soothing and calming. She swayed slightly, caught up in the sound, and found her eyes closing on their own. This wasn't right. Sure, it was late, but she wasn't this tired a few minutes ago. Across from her, Flame yawned wide, and Blacky had already succumbed to sleep. Eve tried shaking her head to stay awake even as her body sagged, her back hitting the wall. As her eyes drifted shut, she could just see Scyther struggling his way out of the quilt...

_She felt... warm. Eve shifted, and then opened her eyes. Oh, this was another dream. Somehow, she was always totally self-aware in her dreams. She knew they were dreams. She knew what she was. And in the dreams she could learn who she was. She sat up and looked around her. It was the house again, the one with the big back yard and the swimming pool. There was the swing set- this dream was after her sixth birthday, when her parents had gotten the great toy for her and her brother. Eve looked at it thoughtfully. The dreams were always in third person, viewing herself and the events around her from a distance. She still wasn't sure how that worked. Shouldn't memories be from her own perspective?_

_Before she had any more time to dwell on it, she heard happy shouts from behind her. Turning, Eve saw the children running towards the pool. Her dreams always had the same two children, a boy and a girl. Well, sometimes the boy wasn't there. But the girl was there, always and unfailingly. These were her memories, after all._

_She studied the child for a moment. The deep red hair was almost violet in the sunlight, and the eyes were big and blue and laughing. Her favorite yellow dress, the one she wore in most of the dreams, had a white bow on the back, and her feet were bare. The little girl ran around the edge of the pool, trying not to get tagged by her big brother. Eve knew his name; it was Kyle. Kyle was in so many of the dreams because he took such good care of her, of his little sister. She'd remembered through her dreams how her parents had worked a lot. Every day, she'd stayed at a nice neighbor's house until Kyle came home, and then they'd play together. He talked to her and read her books, and when his friends wanted to play he'd let her tag along. A nice boy._

_She hated him._

_She hated this boy. He was so kind, so gentle towards his little sister, but where had he been when she'd needed him the most? Where had he been when they took her away? Where had he been when they did this to her, so that the only time she remembered him was when she dreamed? In the dreams he always looked out for her. Why not then?_

_The little girl tripped running across the grass. Eve watched, amused, as she started to cry. It was only a skinned knee, but to the child it seemed like a major catastrophe. She screwed up her face, whimpering and threatening to wail. After all, she'd hurt her knee, and now her favorite dress had grass stains on it. She had every right to cry. It hurt!_

_Kyle laughed gently as he ran over to help his sister up." Now, that was silly. What did you go and do that for?" The little girl glared up at him. Her dress was dirty and her knee was bloody and that wasn't something to laugh over. Her lip quivered, tears threatening to spill over. Her brother's face softened. "Come on, Kathryn, it's okay. See, it's just a little scratch." He rested a hand on her knee above the cut, making a big show of looking at it before nodding. "That'll clean right up and you'll be fine. Don't cry."_

_The little girl whimpered. "But it hurts!"_

"_Well, of course it hurts. Falling down always does." Kyle smiled as he pulled his sister up by her arm and helped her brush herself off. Kathryn frowned at the green stains on her yellow dress, and then kicked at the ground where she tripped, sticking her tongue out at a root protruding from the ground. The smile turned to a grin. "See, you're tough. There's nothing to cry about."_

_The little girl nodded as she looked up at her big brother, and then reached out and gave him a shove. "You're it!"_

There was a nagging interference from the outside world. Eve groaned as she was pulled out of her sleep, the image she was watching starting to fade. She didn't want to leave the dream world behind, she wanted to stay where she was! She shifted, trying to make whoever was shaking her go away. "_Lemme alone..._" She felt a prodding on her tail, but clung tight to the dream, not wanting to leave it. She wanted to hang on just a little bit longer, fight waking up just a little bit harder. The prodding persisted. She slapped it away, silently begging the dreams to come back. The dreams were so nice...

There was a sharp, hot pain on the end of her tail. Eve yelped, jerking into a sitting position and sending Flame flying in the process. There were tears in her eyes as she grabbed her tail to check for damage. "_What did you do that for?!?_" She wasn't burned, but it hurt, badly. The sores that had finally closed over from the last time he had fried the appendage looked ready to open up again. "_What the bloody hell were you thinking?_"

The Charmander's expression was startled, and Eve realized that not only was she shouting, she was swearing. She tried to take a deep breath when she heard a shaking gasp from beside her. "Scyther asked Flame too." Eve turned, and her eyes widened. "Scyther could not move, and Miss Eve would not wake up." She stared at him a moment, and then over at Fervo. Out like a light. Suddenly she remembered why she'd fallen asleep in the first place- the soft music Fervo had made with the grass. Scyther must have stopped him, and hurt himself worse in the process.

Eve winced slightly looking him over. That would be why they needed her awake. Frowning slightly, she offered the bug her arm. "_Come on. Let's get you back to where you can be comfortable._"

Slowly, Scyther pushed himself to a standing position. Eve held her breath the whole time. Finally, the insect stood upright- for about a second. Then he toppled forward. Eve caught him by the shoulder. "Thank-" the bug started to mumble, but then his whole body shuddered. Eve actually heard a cracking sound as his armored chest began to bleed. Ah, that was going to get everywhere. She could smell it. Eve winced, trying not to breathe in too deeply. Glancing at the quilt, she saw that Blacky had somehow gotten to it, but there was still room for Scyther. She started to ease him over to the softer seat. "_There. You sit here and rest._" She looked over at Flame. "_I... kinda missed something, didn't I?_"

"Not really," The Charmander told her with a shrug. "I nearly got my head blown off, Scyther kicked tail. Nothing out of the ordinary" Flame was starting to look tired- really tired. He made his way over to where the Umbreon kit was laying and flopped down next to him, yawning. "I'm knackered. Being nearly killed four times in one day is enough, methinks."

"_Four?_"

"Fervo, Mewtwo, Tentacruel and Fervo again. We were never in any danger from Blacky here," Flame patted the kit's back. "Or so his other half told me before we reached the beach." Eve wanted to ask him what he meant, but Flame's eyes were nodding shut. "I need some proper sleep... instead of being knocked out cold all the time. 'Night, Eve."

"_Goodnight,_" she whispered, but Flame was already asleep. She watched him lie there, curled up next to Blacky. There was a sense of family, a sense of warmth between them. She wondered if she could go back to sleep if she closed her eyes, if she could go back to her dreams. To her family.

She missed Mew.

The realization startled her. When had Mew come to stand for the same things the boy in her dreams had? Eve sat down against the wall, staring thoughtfully into space. Mew would have been able to sort things out between Flame and Fervo much more easily than she had. Mew could handle stuff like that. And Mew was always trying to make her smile. That was what a big brother or sister was supposed to do, wasn't it? Protect you, make you smile, scare the hurts away. Not like someone else she knew.

Where in the world was Mewtwo? Eve frowned. She would have expected him to have shown up by now to see what was happening. A quick glance around the room confirmed that everyone was asleep. Fervo was even snoring lightly. Eve got back to her feet and headed out into the main chamber. There was no one there. She eyed the other two dark doorways curiously. Eve had never checked the other chambers before, they'd always been just sort of there. She headed for the doorway to one of them now, the room across from her own, seeing by the starlight filtering in through the holes near the ceiling. She could just make out dim shapes, crude furniture. But there was no one in the room itself. She moved on to the other room, the one that you saw first coming down the stairs. Again, the moonlight filtered into the room just enough for her to see- and see she did. Large piles of something lined the floor of the little room. Curious, Eve nudged at a pile with her foot. It slid over, making a soft rustling noise, and her eyes lit up. She knelt down, feeling around, and stood up with a book in her hands. Laughing to herself, she examined the other piles. More books, all of them. There must have been at least a hundred of them. "_And you tell me not to take from humans,_" she thought with a smirk. There was no answer. Where was he?

Eve studied the books at her feet. Mewtwo wasn't there, so he couldn't exactly try tell her no, could he? This was a chance to read, and all she wanted. She grabbed a book eagerly and headed to the surface. The three-quarter moon was just bright enough to read by. She studied the title, and then the back of the book, and found that she was holding a mystery of sorts. Not her first choice of story, but it was too dark to pick and choose titles indoors, so she sat down and opened it up. She let herself get engrossed in the story line, visualizing the characters and the things they went through. It was a story about a mad toy maker and his twisted house and games, and the people who came to visit one night. The story inside the book was as creepy and twisted as the decrepit old mansion on the cover, and while she didn't always understand it, she knew she liked it. It wasn't a very long book, and Eve did read fast, so she didn't put it down until she was done. The moon had shifted positions pretty drastically, and she wondered how long she'd been sitting in that one place. She stared up at the stars.

What was that sound?

From somewhere offshore was a choppy sort of buzzing noise. Maybe 'hum' was a better way to describe it. A mechanical rumbling sound that didn't fit her quiet island. Eve wracked her brain, and the word that came to mind was 'engine.' Like the engine on the boat she'd seen earlier that day. Eve's whole body tensed up. She knew the sound now.

It was the same boat.


	28. Under Fire

Ladies and gentleman, let the violence begin. We've reached the climax of the crossover, the big, bloody battle. Just what you've all been waiting for. I want to thank the readers who've bore with us this long. I also want to appologize for the end of this chapter. It was so totally Buwaro's idea.

* * *

This was bad. Eve's whole body tensed as she listened to the sound of the boat. It had to be well after midnight and into the early morning by now. No one took joy rides at that hour. The boat was coming here. It had to be. She grabbed the book and scrambled to her feet. Yes, the sound was getting closer. Slipping backwards into the shadows, Eve turned down into the cave entrance, listening intently, and then fled down the stairs to her room. Everyone was still asleep- except Scyther appeared to be missing. Eve blinked. She'd been sitting near the entrance to the caves. How had she left without her noticing? Frowning, she nudged at Blacky with her foot. He seemed like the least risky to wake, and he had the biggest ears by far. She needed him to listen and tell her if it was getting closer. "_Hey! Hey, wake up._" 

The kit shifted a bit. Eve watched him blink a moment before raising his head with a yawn. "Is it morning yet?"

"_Not quite. Blacky, I need you to listen really carefully. Do you hear an engine of some sort?_"

The kit raised his head, still blinking sleepily. His ears twitched towards the slots in the upper walls. "Yeah, I hear it."

"_Does it sound like it's getting closer or farther away?_"

There was more twitching as Blacky yawned. "It's getting louder. That means closer, right?"

"_Yeah,_" Eve muttered, "_I thought so, too._"

"Thought what," Fervo mumbled. Eve glanced at him quickly. He was rubbing his eyes with the back of one paw as he sat up.

"_Thought we may be in deep trouble_," Eve said, leaning over to shake Flame. The Charmander groaned.

"If this isn't important, I am going to have to kill you," he muttered before looking around the room sleepily. "Where the hell is Scyther?"

Eve scowled. "_I don't know._"

"Well that's very helpful." Flame teetered slightly, on the verge of falling asleep again. Blacky jumped up, already wide awake.

"Uncle! There's this engine and it was getting closer but now it's silent and Eve thinks it's a boat and that it might be trouble and now that Mewtwo is gone then we might-"

Eve stared at the Umbreon. How could anyone talk that fast? Flame, for one, seemed to be used to it. "Breathe kiddo." Eve nodded, and then froze up. What had he just said?!? She turned to stare at Flame.

"_Mewtwo is gone?_"

He didn't even sound the least bit worried. "Yeah. I was gonna tell you earlier but I kinda forgot, what with green idiot here trying to kill me."

"You started it," Fervo shot across at Flame, folding his arms in annoyance.

"Shut up," Flame scowled.

"Make me."

"My pleasure."

Eve clenched her hands. She'd just assumed he'd been off brooding or something. Was he really gone? Gone as in not on the island any more? "_Now hold on just a minute! Where is Mewtwo?!_"

The Treecko sighed. "He went to take out the Rocket's base before they launched an attack on us." She stared at him in disbelief. Mewtwo had done what, and no one had thought to tell her why?!?

"It is a little late for that." Eve's eyes widened as Flame and Blacky both jumped visibly.

"Scyther!" Blacky said loudly. The bug nodded to the kit.

Eve scowled. This was just what she needed, for someone to be hurt worse. Mew was going to be so mad if any of them got any more battered. She was supposed to keep an eye on these guys! "_Where did you go? You're supposed to be resting!_"

"Yeesh, are you his wife or something? You sure sound like one," Fervo cracked under his breath. Eve stared at him in disbelief and wondered if maybe one little shadow ball wouldn't be justified after all.

The insect shrugged. "Scyther wondered where Miss Eve had vanished too, so Scyther went above ground. Scyther was reading over Miss Eve's shoulder for a few minutes before Scyther decided to get cleaned up."

She stared at him in disbelief. "_You were reading over my shoulder? How? I never even noticed you!" _Scyther shrugged.

"Miss Eve is not very attentive when Miss Eve is reading."

Eve groaned inwardly. Maybe it was a good thing Mewtwo wasn't here. He'd give her a hard time for that for sure. "_You said it's too late. What did you see?_"

"Boats. The one Miss Eve heard was a speedboat, there were four other ones. Larger. Transport boats. Scyther ran back the moment Scyther saw them, there were too many to even contemplate taking on even if Scyther was at full strength."

Eve stared harder at the bug, shocked. Four? Transports, what were transports? People movers, big ships for hauling people and things. How many people would be on a transport? Too many. She wasn't that strong yet. She'd needed help with a jellyfish! She couldn't take on four boats full of people.

Flame, it seemed, didn't share her fears. "About time. I didn't get a good pop at that Tentacruel."

"I didn't get a shot full stop," Fervo reminded him. "We'd better get above ground. If they find us down here, we'll be cornered."

Or on the island at all, Eve realized sadly. "_What about Blacky and Scyther? They can't fight right now_." And I don't want to, she thought to herself. Not without Mew or Mewtwo here. How dare he leave without telling her!

"Scyther can handle a small scrap but a duel is probably too much for Scyther right now," Scyther commented, "but Miss Eve is right. Besides, if Team Rocket finds Miss Eve then they would call in the location on a radio and then swarm. There would be no chance." Eve winced slightly. He was right; this was probably all to catch her.

"Then you three avoid them. Get above ground and find a hiding place. Me and Fervo'll keep them distracted. If I can find a boom berry bush then I can cause a big enough explosion to scare them off."

"Good idea. Scyther has the best vision and Blacky could smell any Rockets coming so Miss Eve can avoid them." Eve frowned. They were talking about protecting her? That wasn't right. Mew had told her to protect them.

"I don't like the distraction idea, mainly because you came up with it. Your plans usually backfire," Fervo noted sourly.

Flame growled. "Got anything better?"

"_I don't like it either,_" Eve started, but the insect cut her off.

"No time to argue! Scyther, Blacky and Miss Eve are going to need as big a head start as possible. The transports were small ones, only seven Rocket's in each but if they all have six Pokémon each-" Scyther cut off suddenly. He whirled around, staring up the corridor. Eve's body tensed up, listening, before she realized he was staring into the cave, not towards the entrance. The bug relaxed again, grinning sheepishly. "Mewtwo's book pile collapsed."

"Don't do that," Fervo grumbled. "You almost scared the crap out of me." Flame looked like he agreed.

"I'm not scared," Blacky announced. "Those meanies won't win."

"Not if Scyther has anything to do with it," the insect affirmed. He looked right at her. "But Scyther caught a glance at the Rocket's leader. It is an old tamer."

"Tamer?" Fervo cocked his head to one side. Eve wracked her brain and an image from a circus book she'd seen back then came to mind. Her blood chilled. No...

"Sort of like a trainer. Only tamers use force to make their charges submit. The one Scyther saw..." Scyther broke off abruptly. He took a moment to gather himself before he went on. "She is one of the worst. When I was caught by them, she was the one who attempted to break me into their weapon. It is only through being able to ignore pain that I was able to last. It is only through that ability that I survived, that same ability that's keeping me standing right now. If she finds me after what happened last time we crossed, even that trick won't save my life."

It wouldn't be her. It couldn't be. Eve refused to believe that it could be that woman, that horrible, hateful woman, here on her little island. It had to be someone else. She would not, could not let herself believe otherwise. She took a deep breath and realized that she had her eyes closed. When she opened them, everyone was staring at her. "_Sorry,_" she mumbled. "_That just… reminded me of some things..._"

"No time," Scyther said sternly. "The Rocket's will be setting off any second now!" He turned, heading up the stairs. Eve stared after him as Blacky and Flame ran towards the entrance. Grudgingly, she headed for the steps with Fervo, trying to keep her mind clear, trying to fight the fact that she was afraid. And she was. Eve almost stumbled heading up the steps. She was afraid to go back there, afraid to be in their hold again. She didn't think she could stand to be stuck in one of those rooms again, and this time without Cheryl to talk to her, all alone, _where was Mew? Where was Mewtwo_? Fervo stared back at her, and Eve realized she was falling behind- far behind. She sped up in time to hear Blacky yelping sharply. Eve sped up a bit, only to find a human staring at her. Oh, damn...

The man stared at her a moment before Eve detected the movement. His hand was inching towards a radio on his belt. She tensed up, not sure if she should attack him or the radio, when she saw a green blur behind him. She held perfectly still as the man groped for a radio that was no longer there. Frowning, he glanced at the ground, where she assumed the radio landed, and then behind him. The insect grinned. "Morning."

The man hit the ground without ever making a sound. Eve winced, glancing at Scyther. Since when did he have wings? He'd probably just saved them all right there. He could handle this sort of situation. "_Which way do we go now?_"

"Towards the cliffs seems like the best bet," Scyther said before they were all startled by a low growling. Blacky's hackles were raised, rings glowing. He was looking at what appeared to be blank air. Eve focused on the spot, trying to identify what had the kit disturbed. There was something there, something she couldn't see!

"Blacky?" Fervo stepped back a bit as the kit launched himself forward. She could hear the collision as it happened, but she still couldn't see. Something hazy went flying, scraping through the dirt. Eve's eyes widened as a greenish lizard with a wide, zigzagged stripe appeared.

Flame backed away. "What the hell is that?" Eve tried to think of a name, but couldn't.

"Kecleon," Fervo said bitterly. "That Rocket must have released it before finding us."

Blacky was nose to nose with the unwelcome Pokémon, growling still. Eve frowned, looking around. Could there be more of them? She couldn't see, at least not with her eyes. Frowning, Eve closed her eyes and tried to feel anything around her. There was nothing in the immediate area, not that she could feel. Then again, right now she couldn't feel Blacky, either. Damn... "_I don't think there are any more right now, but it's hard to tell. I can feel the people near the boats..._"

"Then forgive Scyther for not trusting that it is safe here," Scyther eyed the trees, pulling his wings back against his back. It gave Eve the creeps. Flame looked at him doubtfully.

"You're still injured."

"It is nothing."

Fervo was staring at Scyther's leg, and Eve followed his gaze to a bleeding wound. "Looks like a pretty nasty nothing to me."

"Scyther can still walk. Scyther can still fight. Scyther can hold out until this is over."

"_But you might make it worse!_" Didn't that even matter? Eve wondered if it wasn't some sort of mental fault that made the bug incapable of thinking about himself.

"Then that will be Scyther's fault. Don't worry, Scyther has no intention of dying here."

Blacky yelped abruptly. Eve's eyes widened. The Kecleon was gone again, and the pup was injured. Flame swore loudly as Blacky stood up again. "Damnit. Where did you go?"

"Where did that caking freak go?" Blacky looked ready to fight, but the next attack quite literally blindsided him. Not for this. They couldn't get hurt for this. Eve tensed up. Scratches. It had to be right there, and no one could see it. The clone glanced around and settled on a hefty rock before closing her eyes. It was somewhere near the kit, to Flame's left… there?

Eve opened her eyes. If she looked hard, she could barely see the hazy patch. She let the rock fly, satisfied at the dull thunk. "_There it is._"

Flame lunged as the Kecleon re-appeared. Eve's eyes widened as he nearly squeezed the life out of it, not noticing that Blacky had begun to whimper. She frowned. This was normal Blacky, right? She knelt down just as the kit began to cry. Yeah, this had to be normal Blacky. Eve winced. "_It's just a few scratches,"_ She tried to reassure him, "_Nothing deep. You'll be fine…_" The kit kept crying. Eve winced, unsure what to do, when Flame came over and sat down in front of the sobbing Umbreon. He had to pat Blacky on the head a few times to make him look up.

"You gonna let me have a look at that?" The kit's head raised a bit as he fought back his cries, whimpering up at Flame. The Charmander smiled. "There. That wasn't too difficult, eh?"

Eve's throat tightened, and she turned away before anyone could see the tears springing into her eyes. None of these guys were in any condition for a fight. There was no way they could all stand up to that many Rockets, not like they were now. No way...

"Company," Scyther said behind her. Eve turned as a split-tailed Pokémon stepped out of the brush. An Espeon, but not like the other one she knew. This one was looking at Flame and Blacky with a sinister intentness that gave her the creeps. And then the bushes shook again, and something large and red sprung out of it, clear over the Espeon and her two friends. Three somethings, in fact, as Eve, Scyther, and Fervo found themselves face to face with a set of giant red spiders.

Ah, damn...

For a moment, it was hard to breathe. The monstrous spiders came clear up to her chest easily, and had more legs than she could possibly keep an eye on at once. Eve inched backwards, barely able to see Blacky, Flame, and the Espeon over the backs of the spiders. Behind her, she could hear Scyther struggling to his feet, aided by Fervo. God, she wanted to run. She wanted to get the hell out of there and not look back. She wanted to run.

She couldn't.

Try to keep them out of trouble, Mew had said. These were his friends, and he'd trusted her to protect them. She couldn't run. Eve gritted her teeth, staring down the big insects. Suddenly one of the spiders sprang forward, straight at her. Eve yelped, firing off a shadow ball just to get it away. The bug was knocked back in mid-air, but it got back to it's feet easily. There was a grunt beside her. "Ariados do not like cold. Miss Eve would be better to use ice beam."

How the hell was he still standing? Eve didn't have time to ask as the second and third spiders charged. Crouching slightly, she shot an ice beam at one of the spider's exposed stomachs. It fell back with an unearthly screeching. Eve grinned in spite of her inner revulsion. That worked for her!

"Scyther, look out!" Ah, damn! Eve turned just as Fervo launched himself over Scyther's shoulder, trying to knock the spider he was grappling with off-balance that way. The Ariados fell back, but the pinchers over it's mouth opened and it shot a spray of sticky goop as it fell. The Treecko made a disgusted noise and fell back, one arm practically sealed to the side of his body by the sticky webbing. Damn, damn, damn! Three on three might have been fair before the Tentacruel came along, but it definitely wasn't working in their odds now! She shot an ice beam, catching the Ariados in the head before it could finish the job, and then spun and fired into the one that had been creeping up behind her. Eat that, stupid bug! But no sooner had that one gone down than his buddy was trying to catch her off guard from the other side. Eve growled softly. They wouldn't get her that way!

She glanced back once to see how Fervo and Scyther were holding out and was startled by the tiny globes of light being pulled from one of the spiders and pushed into Scyther by the Treecko's direction. Every burst of energy seemed to bring Scyther back to his feet a little more. They might just hold out, she mused to herself before being snapped back to attention by a hissing sound near her ear. If she hadn't been moving, the webbing would have caught her. She fired the spider back- why couldn't her ice beam be just a little stronger?- and chanced another look around for Flame and Blacky. What she saw worried her. How had they gotten all the way across the clearing?

They hadn't. The clone's eyes widened when she realized what was happening. The spiders were driving her, Scyther, and Fervo back so that the Espeon had a free shot at Flame and Blacky. These bastard bugs were just a diversion, meant to divide their meager group in half! And they were falling for it! The growling in her throat deepened into a low snarl as one of the Ariados launched another shot of webbing at her. Eve dropped the ice beam for a shadow ball, ripping through the strands and catching the insect in the head. It staggered backwards and she rushed forwards, intent on re-claiming the lost ground. If she could just get to the middle of the fray, split the Ariados trio a bit more, and reach Flame and Blacky, maybe she could shift the odds. Maybe, just maybe, they would survive this.

She was starting to see what kind of Pokémon Team Rocket favored. The Ariados, like the Tentacruel, were taking huge amounts of damage- one of them was already missing a leg- and they kept coming anyway. Durability, not defense. They were taking the hits, and feeling every one. If she hit them hard enough, they'd stop coming. She just had to break them a little bit more. No. Breaking them wasn't enough. She had to shatter them.

Setting her jaw in grim determination, Eve worked her way around the bugs. If she could get the right angle, she could get all three spiders between her and her friends, using them as a shield to safely fire a shockwave. Just a little further, a few more feet over... There! Fervo and Scyther were directly across from her, with the third Ariados between her and them, and the first of the bugs stood between her and Flame and Blacky to her left. Closing her eyes, Eve dropped her arms to her sides and let the charge build. The two spiders jumped at her at once, and she couldn't help a small smirk at the eerie cries they made when the attack ripped outwards from her body. The attack rippled through the clearing, stopping just short of the third spider. Damn. She'd have to work on her range with that one. One of the two hit Ariados landed on the ground with a sickening thud- she had caught it mid-air and crippled its legs. The other struggled weakly to it's feet, shook itself slightly, and charged again. It was slow, she noted as she backed away and around. Just a little farther. Scyther and Fervo were still holding out. Just a little farther and she could get to Flame and Blacky...

And then there was an earsplitting wail, and Eve turned just in time to see Flame take a shot to the chest. Blacky screamed again as Flame reached up, his eyes glazed, and pulled the horn he'd been wearing out of his chest before sinking to the ground. No. No way. She couldn't be too late. "_Flame!_"


	29. Short Fuses

Well, we got this out fast. I hope you all appreciate it, because this chapter is intense! Tell me what you think when you're done, I want feedback on this one! So let's go!

* * *

It felt like things were happening in slow motion. When Flame went down, Eve thought for a moment that her heart was going to stop. Blacky howled again, an ear-splitting wail, before launching himself at the Espeon. His trail was marked by the tears spilling from his eyes, sparkling in the light of the moon. Funny how she could see them with such vivid clarity. Honestly, she was amazed she could see anything at all.

At first, she wasn't sure that the shadow ball careening towards the Espeon was even her doing. One the one hand, she felt herself forming it, felt the anger and hatred charging it, but on the other, it was like she wasn't really there at all. Part of her felt detached, numb to the world around her. It watched, never interacted, a silent observer to the pain within her. She heard the unearthly cry ripping forth from her own throat, but she couldn't really believe it was her voice.

And then, as the Espeon effortlessly jumped over the projected attack, the two parts of her emotions collided, swirling and undulating into one mass of ugly black feeling. She screamed again, anger and rage and hatred all boiling into one dark mass inside her, a mass that she could pull out between her hands and throw, pain and fear and confusion that she could force onto somebody else, would gladly force it onto this foul creature, this split-tailed beast that had robbed her of one of the only real friends she had. Flame had known her for what she was, had understood it, and had still looked her in the eye. Even Fervo hadn't been able to look her fully in the eye. And this stupid creature had ruined that!

There was a hot stinging across her back, but she ignored it and fired another shot and saw, to her own sick satisfaction, that the Espeon had lost its cool demeanor. It now looked between her and Blacky and back again with a hint of fear in its eyes. She growled. She would give it something to fear...

Suddenly there was a sharp, burning pain where the sting had been. She gasped, instinctively arching away from the pain. In the white-hot haze clouding her mind she could just see the Espeon's expression shift again, a slow smile spreading across it's face even as it took a blow to the side from the enraged Umbreon kit. It rolled to it's feet, turned, bolted into the trees with Blacky hot on it's heels as the Ariados struck her again from behind with hooked legs. She turned, enraged with the spider, the bug, the confounded _insect_ that had distracted her from her target. It had reared up, ready to slash at her again, and she caught it hard in the stomach with her tail, no time to waste, no energy to waste on this damn fool creature. The spider staggered back and she lunged forward, firing the ice beam directly into its middle, catching it and holding it, freezing it solid. Her ears could almost hear it screaming as the ice tore across its body, she could almost feel the cries as the beam ripped a leg from it's carapace, but she didn't care, because the one she was after, the one she wanted to hurt was already gone, behind her and running.

The spider fell to the ground, trapped in an immobilizing casket of ice, and she turned into the trees. Damn common sense, damn being safe, she was going after that Espeon.

She could hear shouts around her, but none of it registered as she tore through the trees. She was aware of a sharp and brutal pain in her shoulder at one point, but a shadow ball dispatched the clawed attacker without even knocking her off her course for more than a moment. A second form leaped out at her and she lashed with her tail, slamming it hard into a tree. She could feel it, feel them around her, trying to get in her way. That way. She wanted to go that way, and they were trying to stop her. Growling, she pulled her power in, centering, focusing. They took the bait. It amazed her how they always took the bait, running right into the shockwave the moment her guard seemed lowest. She didn't even know how many Pokémon she swept aside that time, or how many people with them, and she didn't really care. She pressed on.

She could feel them around her, gathering again. Why couldn't they stay out of her way? She wanted to go that way, needed to go that way. Nothing else mattered right now except for catching that twin-tailed devil. How many of them now? Four? Five? It didn't matter any more. There was only one of them that she wanted, and she'd rip through as many others as she needed to in order to get to it. She closed her eyes, let the charge build, gaining power, shooting outward, flattening the grasses and the bushes and her assailants all in one. Her eyes had barely opened when she was on the move again, had to get forward, and then something hit her hard on the side. Turning back, she saw a dog of some sort through her haze, and then another tore into her other side. She flailed, trying to strike it away with her tail, how many where there? One, two, two little dogs with their bones on the wrong side of their bodies and one big one that looked like it meant business. She didn't care. So did she.

She heard something behind her yell at the shockwave, but the dogs stood their ground and it passed right over them. The largest of the three opened its mouth, and she was almost startled by the jet of fire, almost but not quite. Growling, she threw up a barrier and watched the dancing flames carefully. One jet, one jet of fire while the two small dogs contented themselves with bashing the shield. Only one had fire, that was the one she needed to worry about. The blast waned, and she dropped her defense to fling an ice beam into the choking fire bolt. The steam clouded their vision, but she could still feel them, black energy on a black night. And then one of the pups launched itself at her tail, biting down hard. The steam hadn't worked, they still knew where she was. She swung, flinging it away, and threw up another defensive shield against a second blast of fire. Waves of red licked around the barrier, the red of fire, but that wasn't fire, not over there. She stared, remembering what he'd said, what Flame had said, about the berries. She couldn't hurt the dog directly, but she could still throw things at it. She ripped the whole Cheri plant up by the roots and flung it as hard as her mind would let her, straight into the stream of fire. The explosion shattered through her barrier and she didn't even care, because through it she could hear the frantic yelping of the smaller dogs in pain, caught in the blast. She ripped through the smoke, grimly satisfied at the two small bodies quivering, whimpering on the ground. They wouldn't get in her way any more. She dove headfirst through the smoke and there was the big one, trying to shake off the blast. Growling, she ducked down to slam it with her shoulder, carrying it into a tree. There was a yelp in her ear and a sharp pop in her shoulder, but she ignored it. They were out of her way.

She was almost to the cliffs now. It couldn't be much farther to where Blacky was, Blacky and that jewel-faced freak. She ripped through the trees, and could hear them around her, but they weren't running towards her any more, they were running away. And then she saw it, up by the cliffside, that damned Espeon! It sat quietly on the rocks by the edge, watching demurely as she lashed her way into the clearing. "_You!_"

The Espeon chuckled. "You certainly got here faster than expected."

"_I should kill you for what you've done!_" Eve cried out with her mind, her voice tainted with pain and loathing.

It actually laughed at that, a joyless laugh that made the furs on the back of her neck stand on end. "And to think, this is all it took to draw your power to the surface. You'll actually be of use to us now."

"_And just what makes you think I'd ever be used by you?_"

The stone-cold voice came from behind her this time. "This." Her whole body froze up, but somehow she managed to turn anyway, right into the one pain she would always, always know, always, always remember. Eve stumbled backwards, away from the loud crack and terrible sting, and glared silently at the whip-wielding trainer, that horrible, horrible, hateful woman, her of all people. Jianna. The tamer smirked at her startled expression, and Eve saw her free hand shift. Her eyes widened when she realized what the woman was holding. Jianna was still smirking as she raised the limp form up for Eve to see more clearly. Blacky. Bruised and battered and beaten, she held Blacky by the scruff of his neck. The kit was whimpering softly. "He put up quite a fight," Jianna said smoothly. "But even he was no match for the hounds. I'm pleasantly surprised that you were."

She couldn't stop the way her heart was pounding or the low growling in her throat. Everything she knew she hated she could personify in this woman, and now this woman was holding one of her friends. She'd already failed Flame, she couldn't fail Blacky, too. "_Put him down!_"

"And why would I want to do that?" Still with the same sickening smirk, Jianna used the butt of the whip to tilt Blacky's head up so she could look at it. The kit's eyes were closed, but Eve could still hear the slightest of pained cries as the tamer continued. "So much potential in such a young package. I could mold this one so easily, you know. It wouldn't take much at all."

No. She couldn't let that happen. Eve remembered too well what it would take, and it couldn't happen to Blacky, not _this_ Blacky, the sweet little Blacky who almost cried when he thought he'd hurt her feelings. Eve lashed her tail behind her, trying to remind the human who was larger, trying to remind herself even more than she wanted to remind Jianna. "_You can't do that. I won't let you have him!_"

Jianna's laugh was even colder than the Espeon's had been. It sent a chill running down her spine and made her fur stand on end, like the echoing sing of metal scraping against metal, cold and sharp. "And just how do you intend to stop me, little 'two?"

The words were like ice in her lungs. All at once every emotion she'd fought so hard to forget after her escape came rushing back to her, the anger, the anxiousness, the apprehension, the pain. "_I have a name,_" she screamed at the human. "_I have a name and I have a life and I have an identity! I'm not just a number!_"

"Oh, really?" The tamer taunted her with her voice. "Then what is it? What's your identity, little 'two? Who are you?"

The breath caught in her throat, but the words caught in her mind. She couldn't answer. She didn't know. Her mind and memory were so confused that she couldn't say for certain at times if she was really Eve at all, or still little Kathryn. And right now, right at this moment, who was she? Was she even one of them at all? The creature blinded by hate and anger of moments ago had dissolved with the first crack of the whip, and it had certainly been neither. Who was she?

There were other humans around them now, edging out from the trees circling her. They all had names and identities to go with their faces. And Jianna too, cruel, smirking Jianna who knew exactly who she was and what she stood for. Jianna, who laughed at the pain of others, and drank in suffering like a plant drinks in the rain. Jianna who stood leering at her, confident in her own ability to play these twisted games. And then she understood. She wouldn't know, couldn't know who she was, until she got over who she had been. She needed to face the past, face what had been done to her, just like Mewtwo said. And then she had to defeat it. And that had to start right here, with this hateful woman. She stood up straighter, summoning all of her courage to look Jianna straight in the eye. "_If you're going to call me 'two' the least you can do is get it right. My name is Evetwo, and I'm the one who's going to kick your ass._"

Whatever reaction the Rocket had been expecting, that wasn't it. Finally, Jianna's cool demeanor broke. The woman's lip curled back in what could only be called a snarl as she barked an order at the Rockets around her. "Bring it down. Use whatever force necessary, but I want it alive."

Eve growled. It? That had been deliberate. Shifting, she eyed the men and women around her. A few of them had actual weapons, while others were reaching for their Pokeballs. Eve settled her arms to her side, waiting, charging for a shockwave. She wasn't entirely sure how many more of these she could manage. How many had she fired off already? There was a flash of light, and then several more one after another after another as Pokémon were released around her. Growling, Eve unleashed the shockwave before they had a chance to catch their bearings. Only half of them were swept back; the others only stood there as the wave passed over them. More dark types.

Ah, damn.

And her back was to the cliffs. Eve wondered how many of these things could swim. It had been Team Rocket who'd sent the Tentacruel to the island, after all. Odds were, at least one of these humans would have more water types at their disposal.

And then high above the Rocket's heads there was a creaking, groaning noise. Eve stared as the tree line wavered. One great tree was falling away from the others, towards the clearing. Eve wasn't sure what caused it, but she was glad for it. The Rockets scattered, running to get out of the way of the falling tree, and that's when she saw the bug. Scyther stood at the base of the tree, watching his handiwork topple forward. The Rocket forces were split in half as they ran to avoid being crushed, effectively splitting into two smaller groups.

And then from another tree drifted the rather out of place sound of music, haunting and beautiful- devastatingly so. Eve could almost grin as she reached up to hold her hands over her ears. A weird black bird fell right out of the air as some of the people and Pokémon around her started to sag and drop. The humans actually seemed more vulnerable than the Pokémon, as many of the hapless creatures learned when they turned to their trainers for guidance. Panicking, the standing Pokémon and trainers scattered as the attack started, the Rockets calling out as many of their Pokémon as they could to combat the new threat. Shadow balls rained from the foliage and, to her surprise, a jet of fire streamed in scattering from the other side of the tree as Scyther ran forward along the trunk, jumping off to land next to Eve. She stared at him. "_I never thought I'd say this, but boy, am I glad to see you!_"

"Flame and Fervo are keeping Team Rocket occupied on the other side," the bug said, turning to slash at one of the skeleton-clad dogs as it wasted no time in leaping up at him. Eve stared at him, stunned.

"_Flame survived?_"

Scyther nodded curtly before glancing over at her. "Behind Miss Eve!"

The clone whirled about, expecting another hound or perhaps one of the other weird dark types, but there was a brutish impact on her tail as she spun and she turned to find nothing there. "_Where did it go?_"

"Miss Eve already knocked it off the cliff with Miss Eve's tail," Scyther informed her, parrying a smallish black Pokémon with wicked claws and a very high jump. The clone blinked and then shrugged. Right now it didn't really matter how she took these things down as long as she did. What did matter, she decided, was getting through this mess and finding that damned trainer! Growling at the mere thought of the human woman, Eve flung a shadow ball into the stomach of a similar beast, scowling as it scrambled back to its feet after only a moment's pause.

"_What are these things?_"

"They are called Sneasel," the large insect informed her without even looking up. Eve grunted, staving off one of the skull dogs with another shadow ball. "The canines are Houndour and Houndoom, the snakes are Ekans, and the floating ones are Koffing. Sneasel, Houndour, and Houndoom are all immune to Miss Eve's psychic abilities. Ekans and Koffing are weak against them. And those are-"

"_Beedrill!_" Eve yelled with a squeak as the two insects dive-bombed her. She could swear she knew these particular bugs from somewhere, but right now she was too busy dodging them to figure out where. She scrambled backwards, glancing over her shoulder in the process. She was getting too close to the cliffs! Eve tried to edge around, but between the bugs and the Houndour, moving was hard.

"Scyther and Miss Eve should try to break through towards the trees," the insect shouted as he slammed the back of a blade into the back of an Ekans long neck- or was that its body? She couldn't tell. Eve grumbled irately to herself. Just how was she supposed to do that, anyway? If it weren't for these stupid Beedrill she could go over everything to get away from the edge, or at least build a shockwave from a safe enough height that she could finish the attack without being clobbered. But no, the insects were attacking her from above and keeping her grounded.

"_How are we supposed to do that? I can't even get past these stupid bugs!_" She wasn't sure, but she thought Scyther glanced over at her. One of the bees tried to stab her and Eve growled, flinging a shadow ball into its face. At this close a range, her ice beam took too long to fire and even her shockwave was useless; they'd have her before she gathered energy enough for a round. Besides, the Pokémon that Scyther said would actually fall more easily to her seemed to be avoiding her in favor of scuffling with a green figure over the fallen tree or attacking the insect. The Koffing, in particular, seemed to want to stay away from her- especially after a well-placed shadow ball seemed to cause one of them to explode, damaging several of its fellows. No, it was the dark types and these two ugly, disgusting, and more than anything else _annoying_ Beedrill that were after her blood. And for everyone she saw get called away in a flash of red light, two more wanted to take their place.

Eve growled again, holding her hands out in front of her. Her whole body was starting to tingle, whether from injury or fatigue or what she didn't know, but she didn't have the time to slow down. For a fleeting moment she wondered if there was another psychic in the fray trying to attack her, but she dismissed the thought. Mewtwo had used telekinesis on her often enough that she knew what it felt like being attacked that way, and this was totally different. It burned, for one thing. Psychic power was warm, yes, but this was a violent heat that ran through her whole body, scorching and strong. Eve shook slightly, narrowly evading one of the swooping Beedrill and struggling not to fall over the edge into the water. The second Beedrill charged her, intent on slamming her over the side and into the sea, where Eve was sure nastier things would wait. Looking past the insect, she could see a few more flying breeds taking flight. Stubbornly, she fired a shadow ball at the assaulting stinger, refusing to give up, and the heat in her body erupted as the shadow ball shot forth, blindingly bright, with a force that almost burned her.

It wasn't a shadow ball at all.

The clone's eyes widened and even Scyther paused a moment to stare as the fireball overwhelmed the bee. It only caught for a moment, but that seemed to be enough as the flying insect shuddered violently and crashed into the ground. Eve whooped. "_I have no idea how I just did that, but it works for me!_"

There was a red flash as the first Beedrill vanished, and the second one charged her, enraged. Eve flung another ball of flames at it, noting with dismay that it rather hurt her hands to do so, and leapt into the air while it was stunned. There were startled shouts from the humans on the sidelines as she went airborne. Eve glanced down, noting a few flying breeds approaching her. She could have set up a shockwave except for one natty little bird that was too close. Grinning to herself, she tried flinging an ice beam at it, and found that it cooled the burns from the fireballs quite nicely. If she alternated back and forth, maybe she could keep from damaging herself until she knew what she was doing. Eve dropped her arms to the side, charging up a shockwave. If she could just clear the way for Scyther, they could get away from the edge and start knocking other things into the water. There was a pain in her side as one of the birds tried to cut into her. She gladly returned the favor, shooting down all but one of the flying types and hitting a few Pokémon on the ground as well. The remaining bird was a scraggly black crow that the psychic shock passed over harmlessly. It charged her, aiming for the cut in her side, and Eve shot an ice beam at its wings. It fell with one appendage frozen and landed rather painfully on one of the hounds. She saw Scyther jump over the scrap that ensued. "Which way to Flame and Fervo?"

Eve looked around and spotted two clumps of battling Pokémon, tight knots where groups tried to converge onto one. She pointed the direction. "_They're over there!_"

Below her, the bladed insect nodded. "Scyther can get there over the tree trunk. Miss Eve should stay in the air. It is safer, and more damage can be done."

"_Right!_"

There was a blast of fire from below as a Houndoom tried to compensate for the distance between them. Eve threw up a barrier to block it, and was startled when something hit the impediment from behind her as well. Over the noise below her, she heard a sharp crack and something else struck her invisible wall. Eve turned and tried to remember the name of the item the Rocket was loading darts into. Gun, she thought. Guns were dangerous. They could shoot things other than darts, things that could kill you. The Rocket raised the gun to fire again, and Eve focused every bit of energy she could spare on ripping it out of her hands before he could fire again. The startled human yelped as his weapon was wrenched from his hands and flung into the sea. There was a sharp, sudden tension in her mind and Eve realized that her barrier had started to crumble. She formed a shadow ball as the guard shattered, flinging it down at the Houndoom in annoyance, only to have to dodge a stream of tiny shards from an Ekans. She had no idea what that attack was, but she decided she wanted nothing to do with it and focused on the burning sensation for a fireball. To her dismay, not only did it send the Ekans scurrying for cover but it set the grass on fire as well. Great.

Then again, the ensuing chaos seemed to give Scyther the break he needed to get to the trunk. He nodded up at her, and Eve returned the gesture in understanding. They had to get to Flame and Fervo. And Blacky, Eve thought to herself. And Blacky, before it was too late...


	30. Duel of Duels

Okay, okay, Jianna can go away now! Man, I can't believe how much you guys hate her! I mean, it was my intention, sure, but still! Chapter thirty is the longest chapter yet, and I'm so totally proud of it. I'd also like to note that, yet again, Eve and Mewtwo seem to be able to totally forget what's going on around them to yell at each other. That amazes me. Those two, I swear. Anyway, please remember to review. And for goodness sakes, Randomizer, get an actual acount so I can reply already!

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What was this black bird thing and how could she get it out of her way? 

Eve growled at the black crow, and it returned the gesture in kind. Was it the same one or a different one? She couldn't tell any more, but she knew she was starting to get tired of them. She felt the energy flaring up again and launched a fireball at it, but the bird evaded it with an annoying squawk. Scowling now, Eve turned and lashed it out of the sky with her tail. "_Stupid thing..._" And then she saw a break in the fighting down below, and a familiar orange form. "_Flame!_"

The Charmander glanced over his shoulder at her and Eve saw who... what... he was facing. That stupid Espeon again, only this time her face was contorted in anger and hatred. Is that how she had looked? The Espeon's eyes glowed violently, and Eve saw something materialize over its head. Flame turned just as the horn went sailing towards him again, clutching his chest as the Espeon shouted something she couldn't hear and began to laugh. Eve shouted right back, using a few words she knew she really shouldn't. The Espeon's laughter cut off suddenly as Flame pulled his paws away from his middle. There wasn't even fresh blood on the horn when he threw it back into the split-tailed devil's face, hard enough to send her crashing to the ground. Eve took a chance and landed. "_How are you still alive?_"

"Long story," Flame said without turning around. "Where's Blacky?" Eve stared. Of course he didn't know yet. She couldn't tell him, she just couldn't! Flame took notice of her silence, turning slowly to look up at her. He only had to study her face for a moment to know. "Damn it!" The anger in the Charmander's voice made her wince. "I was hoping that Espeon was lying. They really have taken him." She nodded carefully, noting a Houndour sneaking up on Flame from behind. It hit her barrier head on. Flame hardly noticed. "You go after the bitch that's taken him."

"_What?_" He didn't mean that, did he? After all, Blacky was in his care. Why would he send her?

Flame answered as though he knew what she was thinking. "You're faster than I am, you can avoid this lot. I can trust you not to let them take him away. If you do, then I'll gut you myself. Now get moving, we'll clear up here!"

Eve nodded quickly. "_Alright... I can do that._" It wasn't just that she had to, but for once she thought she really could. She could do this, just as Flame could evade death and come back kicking. After all, if she couldn't... she pushed the thought out of her head.

"Then go already!"

She nodded again. Jianna had been... there, last she saw. She wouldn't have run through the fray. She would have gone around behind it, through the trees. But where would she go from there? Probably to the pebble beach, Eve realized. It was just about the only place a human could get up and down the cliffs with any sort of ease. If she could cut the tamer off before she got to a boat, she could get Blacky back before it was too late...

Eve turned, tail lashing, right into the barrel of a gun. The human behind it sneered. "Make one move, clone, and I'll blow your freakin' head off." Her whole body tensed up, both at the word and at the figure in front of her. The crazed glint in the man's eyes told her he was ready to back that statement with everything he had. Her eyes flicked away from the gun at the motion of his hand reaching for the balls on his belt, but she quickly returned her gaze to the problem at hand. What kind of gun was this? Darts to drug or bullets to destroy? If she didn't know, she couldn't act!

The Rocket answered her question for her, albeit unintentionally. "You are going to surrender or we'll be forced to kill all your bodyguards here." Kill them. That meant bullets. Her eyes met the humans as he continued. "And don't even attempt any psychic crap. I'm wearing an amulet that'll absorb any psychic attacks you pull."

It had to be a bluff. She'd never even heard of anything like that before. Then again, she thought wryly, all she really had to do was look in a mirror if she wanted to see just how much of the world actually followed anyone's expectations. She mulled over the human's words carefully. Psychic attacks. Team Rocket, or at least the bastard in front of her, expected her to rely solely on psychic power. Well, he was in for a sore surprise if she could just get an opening.

The opening came sooner than she expected. Eve quirked a brow at the green form materializing out of nowhere behind the human scum. Before the man could turn to see what she thought was so amusing, there was a blade pressed to his neck. "You attempt it," Scyther hissed in his ear, "and you'll find yourself a head shorter."

For just a moment it looked like the Rocket might cave from the pressure on his neck alone even without knowing exactly what Scyther had said, but then there was a dry clicking sound. A human voice, younger than the one staring her down, sounded off from one side. "Release Admin Marshall!" Eve barely had the time to grant had a moment's glance at the second gunman before the one on front of her tightened his hand slightly. She fought back a growl, instead casting her voice towards Scyther.

"_We're not going to get out of this if we don't take a chance, right? Get this bastard off me and I'll see about disarming the other._"

The insect laughed. "Very well," he said with a chuckle, swinging his arm as hard as he could. Eve saw it twist as he struck the man in front of her with the back of the blade. If Eve hadn't already been turning, the shot he fired as he fell would have shattered her neck at the very least, but the scream from behind her told her she wasn't the one who had been hit. She spun on the second Rocket gunman, who fired a shot on Scyther in his panic. Scyther deflected the shot with one blade, and Eve focused on the weapon. She felt a moment's pity for the young man who was barely more than a kid as she wrenched the weapon out of his hands. Even her unpracticed telekinesis was enough to tear the weapon out of his grip with force enough to crack the bones in his fingers. Scyther darted forward, kicking the boy savagely in the stomach even as he yelled at the pain in his mangled right hand, the cry cut short as he fell. She was about to turn and lash into another Rocket with her tail when Scyther called across to her from smacking down a small group of Sneasel. "Eve, get moving! Jianna'll get away if you hang around!" She half-turned, stunned. Was it just her, or did Scyther sound _normal_? "I'll give up my revenge if I have to, but only if you use the chance to save Blacky before it is too late. She'll already be trying to break him!"

The group behind Flame was starting to advance in a frenzy- the noise of the shots had turned an already disorganized group into a mob- and the Charmander said nothing as he went to work holding them back. He'd already said his piece, she knew. But the Treecko breaking through the lines to fight next to him hadn't. "Get your tail moving," Fervo shouted. "If you are not out of here in ten seconds then I'll blast you myself."

"_Okay..."_ She lifted off the ground just in time to evade a stray Houndoom that had decided to try to catch her off her guard. "_Be careful,_" she called to her friends as she burst out of the fray and into the trees. A glance over her shoulder showed her that they didn't seem to be listening. She hadn't expected them to anyway. And then they were gone.

The term that drifted to her mind, some lost relic of back then, was "home team advantage." It was something Kyle had tried to tell Kathryn about, a term used in sports when one side was playing on their own field. That team was supposed to have a better chance at wining because they were in familiar territory, their own stadium and their own locker rooms and their own fans. Eve cut through the trees, darting over most threats and pausing only momentarily to throw an ice beam at another one of those damned black birds. Even though she hadn't been particularly interested in sports, she remembered what home team advantage was, and she knew that she had it here. This was her territory, and she understood it in a way that Team Rocket couldn't. It was that knowledge, the knowledge that gave her the ability to second-guess Jianna, that she was counting on. There was only one place that this many of them could get up the cliffs, after all. Eve gave a moment's pause to recover what wounds she could. The technique failed to heal her completely, but it did take care of the smaller cuts and scrapes, and closed over the larger gashes. The clone nodded to herself once, and burst through the trees into the open night.

And there she was. Eve's body coiled up like a spring right down to the last muscle at the sight of the tamer, still carrying a limp Blacky under one arm as she headed down the rocks to the water below. Even from here she could hear the kit whimpering slightly. Eve fought back a growl as the human woman reached the beach and headed for one of the boats. Her hands came together with hardly a conscious thought on her part, charging a shadow ball on instinct alone. Jianna was speaking into a small black box- radio, that was called- as she headed for the smallest of the boats. The clone's eyes narrowed as she launched the shot into the water in front of the human woman. Jianna recoiled away from the spray, turning to see who had fired on her. Her upper lip curled into a sneer as her eyes settled on Eve. The clone jumped down from the cliffs, settling gently onto the pebbles. "_You're not taking him._"

"You've learned a few new tricks since I saw you last," the human hissed. "No matter. Your friends may have gotten you past the grunts, but you're still no match for me, little two."

Eve's eyes flicked to the whip. Much to her own dismay, Jianna followed her gaze. She eyed the object critically. It was only a strap, really. Nothing to be afraid of. Nothing at all... The whip flicked suddenly, and Eve had to fight the urge to flinch away from the cracking sound. It was only a noise. She raised her eyes back to Jianna's face. "_You can't touch me with that._"

The woman sneered. "I suppose you think you're going to get this back, then?"

"_I will,_" The clone replied evenly. The human's eyes narrowed, her whip hand twitching. The look in her eyes was searing, and the clone realized with a start that somehow this woman hated the sight of her just as much as Eve hated the human.

"And just how do you think you'll do that without your little friends here to help?" The human spat the words. "You're alone, little two. There's no one here to save you." Jianna reached for a ball on her belt, hooking the whip there to free her hand. "Here. I'll even prove it to you."

Eve tensed as the tamer threw the ball to the ground in front of her. The Pokémon appeared in a flash of red light, and Eve was startled to find that she actually had to look up slightly to see this thing eye-to-eye. It had a great gray body, and its most prominent feature was the large tan horn on its nose. It ground one foot into the rocks, staring at her with black, beady eyes. Great. What the hell was this?

And then it charged her.

Eve threw herself to the side as the beast came running at her. It was big enough that it could probably hurt her- if it hit her. Fortunately, the lumbering brute didn't seem to be the fastest thing on two legs as it turned to come at her again. Eve braced herself, ready to shoot a fireball at the offending hulk, when there was a sharp pain across her back. The clone screeched slightly, turning to fend off the new attacker. There was nothing there, but Jianna now had an extra red and white ball in her hand aside from the one on the ground, one that was only just snapping shut. Damn, what had she sent out this time? Eve hadn't seen the second Pokémon, distracted as she was by the...

Oooh, damn.

She barely had time to get out of the way of the charging gray Pokémon behind her. Eve sidestepped the barreling Pokémon, turning to fling a fireball at it, when a high-pitched squealing caught her off guard. The sound was like a spike in her ears, and the fire died as Eve threw her hands up to protect the sensitive appendages. She could just see the gray beast charging her again and shot up into the air, still clutching her head. The beast- Rhydon, is that what Jianna was yelling? - passed underneath her harmlessly. She growled, removing her hands from her ears to try launching another fireball when something pierced her from behind, tearing through the flesh and fur on her back. She whirled, and just barely caught sight of a flying insect of some sort before the reverberating screech sounded again. Eve growled, shaking her head slightly. She wouldn't loose to this woman!

Below her, the Rhydon seemed to be facing her with some indecision. Under any other circumstances Eve would have smirked when she realized what the problem was- it was strictly earth-bound. As long as she stayed in the air, the beast couldn't hurt her- but the insect could. She still had to keep her guard up.

Jianna was trying to get to the boats again. Eve growled, launching a fireball into the water and driving the woman back to the shore. Jianna cursed as she turned away from the hot steam where fire met water. The delay saved Blacky, but it cost Evetwo dearly. Out of nowhere the flying bug was in front of her, and the clone yelped as it slashed at her stomach. Her focus broke momentarily, and she narrowly managed to avoid crashing onto the rocks below her. Rhydon charged the moment she landed, and she actually had to roll to get out of the way in time- but she managed to fire off an ice beam in the process. She'd intended it to soothe her hands, which were starting to ache again from the fire, more than to do any damage, but Rhydon reared back with an angry bellowing. Eve took another shot, stunned by her own luck. The oafish thing hated the ice! A little more and she could drive it away completely, she was sure of it... until the screaming sound started again. Eve winced, trying to keep her composure, but finally she had to fire one last blast and break her attack to cover her ears. The gray behemoth fell with the last bolt of ice and the screeching cut short. She glared across the beach at Jianna, who was smirking even as she called back the battered Rhydon. "You don't like that, do you?"

"_It'll take more than a little noise to beat me!_" Blacky was crying softly under the woman's arm, and Eve realized that what was painful for her must have been agonizing for the kit with his sensitive ears. She growled, casting a glance around her. Nothing. Where was that thing?

"Is it hard for you to be this confident?" Jianna's voice was sugary-sweet, but Eve could hear the venom beneath the honey as the woman taunted her. "It must be so scary for you, all by your lonesome. You've never actually managed to do anything by yourself, and now here you are, all alone, with nobody to save your wretched hide."

It was true. She was alone. But that didn't mean she could just give up, either. Eve clenched and unclenched her fists a few times. Jianna was trying to break her with words, drain her so that stupid insect could finish her. Damn it, where was that thing? She clenched her fists again. "_You're right,_" she said softly, "_I am alone._" The human's eyes narrowed in a victorious leer. Eve met her gaze. "_But that doesn't mean I'm helpless._"

Still nothing from the bug- funny how she was too worried about Blacky to be afraid of it- and then Jianna's whip hand twitched, and Eve realized too late what was happening. Sharp claws raked into her from behind, aggravating the gash that was already there and re-opening the wounds she'd gotten from the spider. Eve choked back a cry. She wouldn't give this woman that satisfaction! Jianna smirked as Eve bit her lower lip to keep from yelling. "Face it, little two, you're at your limits. Your energy is nearly spent and your body can't take much more punishment. You're pathetic and weak and soon enough you'll be mine." There was a cackle, a cold, heartless laugh. "You're precious fellow psychics aren't here to save you this time, two!"

The clone clenched her fists to keep her body from shaking. Blacky had fallen silent again. As long as she thought of the kit, as long as she remembered why she was here, she could do this. She closed her eyes. So what if she couldn't see this stupid thing. She still had to find it somehow. "_I may not be as cunning as Mew is,_" she mumbled, twitching slightly as her ears picked up a faint whirring from her left, "_And god knows I'll probably never be as powerful as Mewtwo..._" There. It was there, a tickling at the edge of her mind; the bug was there! Eve's eyes flew open as it charged her, "_But I have something that they don't have, either!_" Growling, she let the heat overwhelm her body, firing the flames straight into an oncoming blur. There it was, the high-pitched scream, but this time the sound was distorted from pain. "_I have a sense of spirit that's nothing short of human! I don't give in to bitches like you!_" The insect fell to the ground in flames, flailing in the sand, and then was still as the fire died. Jianna's eyes were wide as Eve rounded on her again. This time it was the human's turn to edge away slowly, the free hand darting to the radio on her belt. Eve ripped it out of her hand telekinetically. "_Now we'll see who belongs to who. I'm giving you one more chance. Give me the kit._"

Jianna's eyes were half-maddened. "This little Umbreon's that important to you, is it?" She shook the kit, holding him by the scruff of the neck, and Eve had to suppress a snarl. "You couldn't really do it, though. You couldn't attack me, knowing you put this little furball at risk." The human gave Blacky another violent shake. "As long as I have this, your hands are tied!"

"_Bet me,_" Eve growled. The human's eyes widened at her continued defiance. And it wasn't just that, either. Eve could feel two or three more humans approaching just as clearly as Jianna could hear the cracking of the radio in the sand, asking if she needed assistance. She had to finish this fast. All she needed to do was make that woman drop the kit. Just drop him. She didn't even need her to get away from Blacky if she could just make her put him down!

But her last two words had been the final straw. The snapping of the whip startled her, but not nearly as much as the sudden charge. The human lunged, cracking the weapon at her, forcing her back. Eve's eyes widened. Was this woman insane? No, this was more than insanity; there was bloodlust in her eyes! The human lunged again, her composure broken. Now she was driven by sheer rage. "Do you have any idea what you've done," she screamed, "Any idea at all? You almost cost me my career! I will bring you back, damn it, and this time you will obey!"

Eve grunted, raising her arms to deflect the blow away from her body as the whip sang through the air. The blow landed across her forearms, but at least her face and eyes were spared. The woman lashed at her again, not even taking the time to consider where the strikes would land. Eve protected her head with her arms only for her exposed sides to be cleaved by the stinging leather. She had to make this... stop!

Jianna raised her arm to lash out again, and for a brief moment Eve could see the whites of her eyes before the woman turned her head, stunned, to stare at her own hand. Eve huffed slightly. She'd never done this before, never tried it for fear of hurting her friends, but this wasn't a friend! The tamer turned back to stare at her in disbelief as her hand bent back at the wrist over her head quite against her will, the whip falling harmlessly behind her. She turned too late. Eve whirled about, striking the woman in her exposed side with her tail, waiting for it, listening for it, and there it was, that crunching sound she'd come to expect, the sound of someone breaking. Jianna choked as her ribs cracked, and reached her other hand to protect her stomach. Blacky fell to the sand, forgotten. It was what Eve had been waiting for. She lunged forward, knocking the human off of her feet with her shoulder. Jianna rolled in the sand, scrambling for the whip even as blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, only to howl as her body froze. "No!"

Eve stared down at the woman, and found that this was easier than she'd thought it would be. "_You won't hurt anyone anymore with that,_" she 'whispered' to the human. Jianna looked like she was trying to fight the telekinesis. It was frighteningly easy to hold her. "_You won't hurt anyone at all._"

"Let me go!" The human's face was contorted in rage and pain. "Let me go, you stupid thing! Let me go!" Her breath was getting labored, and Eve realized that the pain of her smashed ribs was getting to be too much for her. There was a light coming from the water now, and the clone looked up towards the boat that was approaching. She could just hear the shouts of the humans on board. Growling softly, she lifted the tamer off of the rocks and flung her out into the water. She could see the humans on the boat scrambling to collect the limp body as she called out one final word to the beaten woman.

"_Drown._"

There was a whimpering from her feet. Eve's head snapped downwards as Blacky looked up, his eyes only half open. "Eve?"

"_Hey..._" Keeping a wary eye on the boat, Eve knelt down to reach for the kit. "_Are you feeling okay?_"

"It hurts," Blacky whimpered. Eve ran a hand along his back, checking for anything that felt out of place Nothing felt off, and his legs were all straight. That was a good sign.

"_What hurts?_"

"Everything." The clone frowned to herself. If that was the case, there wasn't too much she could do about it. She scooped the kit up as gently as she could, cradling him against her chest. His head moved slightly as he settled against her. For just a moment there seemed to be an awareness in his gaze that she didn't like, but it passed, and the kit's eyes drifted shut. Eve hugged him to her. Now to get him back to Flame, where he belonged.

"Freeze!"

Ah, this had to be a bad joke of some sort. She turned her head slowly, very slowly, towards the trees. There were three of them, and while two were armed only with Pokeballs the third was holding a gun. Damn it! Her whole body was hurting, and she didn't dare risk turning towards any potential shots, not with Blacky in her arms, so she just stared over her shoulder at them. "_It's dangerous to point that at me._"

Two of the three grunts jumped visibly at her voice. The third's eyes widened, but he kept the gun steady. "We've got you outnumbered! You can't win!"

In her condition, Eve realized, she probably couldn't. But she could still try. Maybe she could bluff her way out of this. Eve kept her gaze level. "_I've been facing worse odds than three against one all night._" She allowed herself to smirk slightly- one of the frightened Rockets had composed himself quickly, but the other looked ready to run. Good. If she could just get the other two to feel the same, get them all to run, she could get out of this without getting hurt worse. But the man with the gun wasn't wavering at all- until a resounding crash sounded from the other side of the island. In that instant, his eyes left her, and Eve went for the gun. The Rocket grunt yelped as the weapon was ripped from his hands and cast into the trees. He stared after it helplessly before glaring back at her. She turned her full body towards them. "_You're unarmed. Still think you can take me?_"

The answer she got was a soft hissing sound as the two other Rockets threw down their Pokeballs. Another Ekans, something that looked like it could be related to Flame, and a pair of Sneasel. Oh, hell. Eve held her ground, thinking. She could use her shockwave to take down the Ekans and the fire type, but to use her fire against the Sneasel she'd need to have her hands free. Of course, the moment she set Blacky down he was in danger again. There was always her tail, though. That had proven to be an excellent weapon. Eve tensed, studying the Pokémon in front of her. Her back was cold where the blood soaked her fur from those gashes, but she pushed the chill- and the pain- out of her mind, drawing up what energy she could. The four Pokémon all charged her at once, and Eve covered Blacky as best she could with her arms as the shockwave rippled outwards. Blacky and the Sneasel were spared, but the fire-type was slammed backwards and the snake fell where it was hit. Well, that had worked. There was just one problem.

She didn't think she could do it again, and Rocket number three was pulling balls off of his belt.

Eve growled, turning her upper body away from the offending claws of one of the Sneasel. They came one from each side, so in dodging one it should have been possible to hit the other with her tail, but the stupid things were fast! Eve grunted as the second dark type ducked under her tail and sank its claws into her leg. Well, that hurt. She kicked at it as hard as she could as it tried to pull away, stunning it for a moment. It was the moment she needed to get back on track and locate the second one. It was over there, watching its teammate get kicked in the head with a vaguely disinterested look on its face. Some teamwork they had.

Then again, who needed teamwork when the third Rocket had just pulled out the mother of all snakes? The giant cobra's wicked hood unfurled as it rose up off the ground, eager to sink it's fangs into her. Eve groaned inwardly, trying to draw up the energy for another shockwave. It wasn't there. She could feel the heat coursing in her, but fire, and ice for that matter, was no good either; she couldn't afford to risk loosing Blacky again, not even for the time it would take to shoot off an attack. As long as she had to protect the Umbreon, her hands were tied.

And then, from somewhere behind her, came a glittering black shadow ball. The Rocket's eyes widened as the Sneasel that had ripped into her leg was blasted back clear to the tree line. Eve didn't dare take her eyes off of the humans as the second Sneasel was dispatched in the same means as the first. The three grunts seemed to be in a state of confused panic. She could imagine why, knew exactly what was happening even without turning around. The giant cobra charged, whether towards her or towards the one behind her she couldn't tell, only to be flung back before it had even reached her. Eve closed her eyes against the blue glow that surrounded the snake, wishing she could cover her ears against the yells of the grunts as the glow spread to them as well. The yells cut off after a moment, and when Eve opened her eyes again, both the humans and the Pokémon were sprawled in the grasses before her, unconscious. There was a soft thumping on the rocks behind her. She didn't turn around. "_Where were you?_"

Mewtwo ignored her question. "_What happened here?_"

"_What does it look like? We're under attack! Where the hell where you?_" She couldn't stop her voice from shaking any more than she could halt the shaking in her body or the anger rising up in her throat like poison.

"_I was handling the Team Rocket base on another island._" He sounded calm, collected, the same as he always did. Didn't he have any idea how bad the situation was, how badly they'd needed him?

"_And leaving us open for an attack here!_" Eve hugged Blacky to her, trying to drown out the pain that was too strong now that she was standing still. With the unconscious kit in her arms and no immediate danger to distract her, she could feel every slash, every cut, every last bruise on her body. She closed her eyes and tried to recover, but the healing removed even less of the damage than it had the time before. What had Mew told Flame? If you use it too often in too short a period, it stops working? This was the third or fourth time she'd tried to use the technique in about a day, and twice in the last hour alone. Usually she didn't need it more than once every few day or so. Great, one more thing she needed to practice...

The rocks crunched softly as Mewtwo stepped towards her. She kept her back to him resolutely, feeling a surge of loathing towards the thought of even acknowledging his presence. Mewtwo regarded her silently in turn. Damn it, he should at least have to apologize for this! It was his fault things got this bad, he was the one who decided to leave without telling her! She was about to turn and tell him so when there was a sudden, soft brush of cool air on her back. Mewtwo had lifted her hair away to examine the wounds that still remained. Eve whirled. "_Don't touch me!_"

"_I did not,_" he said evenly. Eve growled in spite of herself. Of course he hadn't, he never touched her. He just used his damn telekinesis all the time, as though he might be soiled touching something so far beneath him.

"_You know what I mean! You left us behind when you knew it wasn't safe! Don't go pretending you care now!_" For a moment she thought his jaw twitched, but she ignored it. "_What was it you told me once, that I needed to be aware to survive? You're so hell-bent on your own agendas that you don't even care if anyone else survives! Try looking around you! We-_" The words choked in her mind. Eve stared at him for a moment, him and his damn passive expression, before forcing herself to continue. "_We needed you here!_"

For a moment, there was almost a flicker of something in his eyes, some expression she couldn't have read even if it had remained. Then Mewtwo nodded. "_Which way are the others?_"

She turned to lead him through the trees without saying a word. It would probably be for the better if he didn't see the tears that were welling up in her eyes, anyway.


	31. Helping Hand

Longest. Chapter. Ever. I am so tired right now I could collapse, but it's done! We're winding down with the crossover now, but first, let's kick some more ass so we can have some fun!

* * *

All she had to do was keep looking straight ahead and she could pretend Mewtwo wasn't there. It was that simple. She could hear him behind her, heck, for once she could feel him there, but if she kept her eyes straight ahead and didn't look at him, she could just ignore him. She had never been this angry with him before, not even when he'd tried to starve Flame and Fervo. He'd gone away and left them vulnerable, and everyone was suffering now, and things might have been different if he'd just been there like he was supposed to be. He could have made all the difference they'd needed to have gotten through this unhurt, and where had he been? He'd abandoned them all!

Mewtwo, for his part, was mercifully silent- but that didn't mean he wasn't watching her. She growled softly to herself as she looked around, trying to ignore the feel of his eyes on her. The area they were in was quiet enough that she could hear the shouts elsewhere on the island. Eve headed resolutely for the sounds. She had to help the others, with or without her shockwave.

"_Evetwo, get back!_" Eve squeaked as her body was yanked backwards suddenly. She was about to try to turn on Mewtwo when something went barreling through the brush in front of her. The sleek black and white Pokémon raced ahead of her towards the shouting ahead, not even slowing as it barreled through the underbrush. It looked back once, and red met red as its eyes met hers in a glare that gave her the chills. There was hatred in its eyes that she didn't quite understand and a loathing she wasn't sure she deserved. Had she done something to this thing that she didn't know about? No, she was quite sure she'd never even seen one of these things before.

She didn't realize she was still being held back until she stumbled forward again. The clone yelped, twisting to her side so she wouldn't fall on Blacky. She landed on one of the whip wounds instead, choking back a cry as a rock drove into her battered body. Pain! There was a sigh from above her. She raised her eyes to glare at Mewtwo as she tried to push herself back up. She managed to get herself to a sitting position before scooping up Blacky once more. "_What the hell is wrong with you?_"

Not only did he blow off the question, but Mewtwo actually overlooked the fact that she swore at him in favor of looking after the white Pokémon. "_An Absol,_" he said, watching intently for any sign that the creature might turn back.

The name was unfamiliar to her. Eve grumbled softly to herself at the thought of having to ask him to elaborate, but she made herself do it anyway. "_What is it and what does it do?_"

"_Absol is a darkness breed. Many humans refer to them as disaster incarnate because they have a habit of appearing before floods or earthquakes. For a long time, it was believed that they caused them, reveling in the misfortunes of the humans who lost everything in the calamity. That, of course, is pure superstition. They are combat experts by nature, using moves that take advantage of the blade-_" Mewtwo cut short suddenly, staring down at the kit in her arms. Eve looked followed his gaze just as Blacky started to stir, crying softly. At first, Eve figured the movement aggravated his hurts. But then the minute cries took the form of words.

"Uncle Flame," the kit whimpered, nosing blindly at the air with his eyes closed. For a moment, Eve thought her heart would break. She hugged the Umbreon close. That was right. Blacky had seen the Charmander fall, the same as she had. But he hadn't seen him standing again later the way she did. Blacky whimpered again, shrinking into Eve's arms

"_Flame's fine,_" Eve murmured as gently as she could. "_He's okay. I'm going to get you back to him._"

"B-but I saw him die!" Blacky's voice raised. His small body trembled in her arms as his sense of panic and loss grew. Like her, he had simply reacted, responded to what had happened without really thinking about it. It must have been hitting home now. "She stabbed him, the Espeon did! I saw it!" The kit struggled weakly against her grip as she tried to keep him from flailing. Eve kept holding on.

"_He didn't die. I saw him again. I talked to him myself. He's the one that told me to come get you._" Eve ruffled the kit's ears, trying to do anything she could to soothe him. "_He's waiting for you to come back, so we have to keep moving, okay?_"

There were tears in the Umbreon's eyes as he stared up at her with a look so pathetically sweet it could have melted a glacier. "He's really okay?" Eve nodded vigorously. The kit's voiced raised a little more. "You promise?"

"_Yeah, I promise._" Blacky studied her face for a long minute before suddenly ducking his nose down and burrowing it between her arm and her body. Eve's first instinct was to tense up, but she managed not to; she would have squeezed the little kit if she had. With his face hidden from the world, Blacky's shuddering slowed to a stop. There was a long silence. "_Blacky?_" There was no answer. Eve felt a tinge of worry and looked up at Mewtwo, forgetting her own silent vow to forget that he was there. He had been studying the Umbreon intently when she turned to him, but he shifted his eyes to meet hers. "_Is he okay?_"

"_He has lost his immunity,_" Mewtwo 'whispered' to her, sounding more stunned than she could ever recall him being. His gaze fell back to the Umbreon, and she could actually see the slightest hint of confusion written on his face.

Eve tilted her head to one side, mirroring the confusion. The words came out before she could stop them. "_How what now?_" She winced to herself. It wasn't supposed to come out like that, and again even. Why did that always come out when she was trying to figure out what she wanted to ask?

Mewtwo didn't even react to the repetition of her stupid question. "_I can sense him fully, and was able to put him to sleep before he caused us trouble. I should not have been able to do that. The psychic immunity trademark to his type is gone._" Eve's eyes widened, and then narrowed. He would feel the need to rule the Umbreon off as trouble if it so suited him. She struggled to her feet, re-settling Blacky in her arms, and started moving forward again. The sounds were closer than they had been before, but the majority of them seemed to have stopped. Eve moved to shove through the trees, hoping she would get there in time to help. Mewtwo stepped into her path. "_Stop._"

Eve stared at him in disbelief. Could he really be serious? He had to be, he couldn't possibly be stupid enough to kid her at a time like this. He didn't even have a sense of humor to begin with. "_Why should I?_"

"_You are injured and your energy is spent. You are in no condition to fight._"

"_That's not enough to stop anyone else, why should I let it stop me?_" Eve glared up at him, challenging him with her stance. Mewtwo studied her quietly for a moment, his gaze falling to her wounded side.

"_You are bleeding,_" he noted. Eve wondered vaguely how he could tell. It seemed like everything she'd gone up against that night had managed to cut her somehow. By this time, the wounds that were still open should have been pretty well camouflaged by the blood she'd already shed.

"_I'll survive,_" she said with a scowl. What, so now it was convenient for him to look after her like he was apparently supposed to? If he could only act like he cared half the time, she'd rather he wouldn't bother.

The larger clone looked her square in the eyes. "_And if you do not?_"

Maybe this wouldn't be so annoying if he could act a little concerned to back up what he was saying. Actually, forget acting. Even that wasn't necessary. Right now she would settle for him just sounding sincere. "_If I don't survive, Mew will probably skin you alive. If he doesn't decide to do that already, of course._"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed, and she could see some of the familiar annoyed expression coming back. Apparently he'd decided he was done being reasonable. "_You are unusually mouthy tonight._"

"_And you're obsessing over your own agenda again,_" Eve snapped, heading around him irritably. He made no move to stop her this time. "_If I want to help fight, I will. This is our home, you know. And those are my friends._"

She heard him start to follow her. "_I am match enough for the Rocket's here. If you feel you must fight, do so to defend yourself and the Umbreon. I will see to the rest._"

So now he wanted to help? Eve said nothing, pushing through the trees instead. Something big must have happened, she realized as she looked around. Earlier the tiny forest had been crawling with people, and now there were none there. Everything of any importance was happening up ahead, where she needed to be. Eve moved more quickly through the trees, intent on reaching her friends, and finally shoved her way through the trees to the cliffs.

What was left of them, anyway.

Eve's eyes widened at the sight of a large portion of the cliff missing. She stopped short and heard Mewtwo halting behind her as she surveyed the damage. There were signs of the fight on every rock, tree, and blade of grass- but the blades that reflected the carnage the most were by far the ones on the great insect bearing down on that damned Espeon and the mysterious Absol that had run by her in the forest. Scyther's whole being radiated with a rage that she could almost see. It shimmered in the air around him, making it hard to look at the giant insect without wincing. Behind him, she saw Flame and Fervo. The Treecko appeared to be unconscious, or at least she hoped that was all it was. Where were the rest of the Rockets?

Scyther was advancing on the Espeon. The look on his face was a reflection of pure hatred. "You and Jianna never thought of me as anything bar something to be beaten and abused," he growled. Eve's own eyes widened slightly. Then it was true. He, too, had suffered under the tamer? Scyther continued, moving forward as he spoke. Every step forced the Espeon back just a little more. Eve did a double take. Where were her tails? "She used to spend hours seeing how far she could go before I passed out from pain. Broken glass, heated irons, the whip and even her own fists." Blacky whimpered in her arms, and Eve realized that she was hugging him too tightly. She loosened her grip, trying not to shake in the process. The wounds from the whip seemed to ache along with Scyther's words, dredging up thoughts and emotions she'd really rather forget. Blacky whimpered again, and Eve let herself be distracted with a new though. How was she going to get him to Flame?

She didn't have time to think about it for long. There was a low rumbling from over near the Espeon; the Absol had spotted her. He hadn't moved from where he stood, but neither was he watching out for the other Rocket Pokémon any more. Instead his eyes were trained on her as he growled softly in his throat. "You have a lot of nerve showing your face to me, clone."

Eve started to move into a stance she could fight from, only to stop as Mewtwo brushed past her. "_Stay back._" Eve started to protest, but he cut her short. "_You could not handle a fully-grown Absol on a good day. As you are now, you would be killed. I, on the other hand, have the strength and the knowledge to keep it at bay._"

The dark type seemed to be considering him for a moment. Finally, the white Pokémon lowered its head, and Eve thought it was giving up without a fight- until it was gone. She hadn't even seen which way it launched itself. Fortunately it seemed Mewtwo had because he turned and fired a shadow ball to her immediate right, knocking the Absol off of its feet. "_Get back,_" he ordered. Eve complied willingly, inching her way to the left as Mewtwo took another shot at the sleek white creature. The Absol grunted softly in its effort to keep dodging the balls of black glitter. Eve backed away further, toying with the idea of making a break for Flame and Fervo. Someone had to be sure the Treecko was all right, after all. She glanced back over towards Scyther and the Espeon and felt like a little of the weight was lifting when she saw that the pinkish four-legs was running for the trees. Scyther moved to charge after her, only to be engulfed by a blinding white light. Eve had to close her eyes against the glow, momentarily thankful that Blacky's face was tucked against her body away from the light. His ears, however, weren't protected from the sounds of the explosion any more than hers were. Eve's eyes flew back open. "_Scyther!_"

Scyther's body appeared out of the cloud of smoke, flying backwards. Eve kicked off, trying to get to him as he slammed into a tree and slid to the ground below, immobile. Had he survived that? Could anyone have survived that? To her left Flame was making the same mad dash she was, and she was fairly sure she heard him yell 'cake' rather loudly in the process. The Espeon, too, was headed towards the prone insect. Eve growled softly. If they could just drive that stupid beast back a bit, just get her away from the injured bug, just get her away...

The Espeon was there first. The gloating expression on her face made Eve hate her all the more- until the feline found herself lifted clean off of the ground by the back of a blade. Scyther swung his arm around, pinning the Espeon to the tree by her throat. The look of triumph was replaced by one of fear as the great insect raised a blade, touching it to the jewel on the psychic's forehead. Eve stopped short, biting back a cry as she jarred her slashed leg. The Espeon's eyes were wide as Scyther drew the blade back. "Game over."

The green bird came out of nowhere. Eve hadn't even been aware of it until it unleashed a psychic energy attack that reminded her a little of her own shockwave- only this one was accurate enough to hit Scyther and Scyther alone. It landed, only to walk over to the Espeon lying on the ground. "I do not understand why Mistress Jianna keeps you around," it preached in a high, shrieking voice. "You cannot even fight off a injured and exhausted bug without help." Eve felt a growl rising in her throat. These things were Jianna's Pokémon?

The Espeon pushed herself off of the ground shakily, no more pleased to see her new ally than he was to see her. "Orion, what took you so bloody long?"

"Well," Eve could have sworn the bird shot a sharp glance in her direction as she tried inching her way towards Scyther, keeping one ear towards the conversation at all times. "I spent god knows how long teleporting the mistress from one place to another. Some idiot blew up all the nearby Team Rocket medical stations so I ended up teleporting across to the mainland to find one. You know how knackering long distance teleportation is?"

She made it to the injured insect and knelt down, trying her best to favor the wounded leg. "_Come on, we've got to get you away from them._" Scyther was glaring at the two Rocket Pokémon, but took the offered shoulder. Eve wondered vaguely how she was going to support him and carry Blacky at the same time when the Espeon spoke up.

"I say we take the Umbreon."

"What?"

The foul psychic was eyeing the kit under Eve's arm as she opened her mouth again. "Take the Umbreon to Jianna... It'd hurt them, emotionally at least..." Eve was about ready to attack when she realized that somehow the Espeon had managed to forget Flame was there. The Charmander practically launched himself into the air, throwing his whole weight into one solid punch to the Espeon's nose. Eve heard the crunching of bones and winced slightly. "You'll lose more than your tail when I'm done with you," the enraged fire type bellowed as he moved to pummel the now very unconscious Espeon, only to be knocked aside by a large wing. The weight on her shoulder relieved itself and Eve tensed her body to spring at the bird on her own- and wounded leg be damned- when she was knocked rather brutally aside, yelping softly as she landed on her tail. Scyther charged the winged beast, and where he found the energy for it she had no idea, but just as he reached it there was the oddest shimmer in the air- and both psychics were gone. Eve groaned quietly to herself, shifting off of her tail and back to her feet as Scyther failed to stop in time and fell to the ground. Why was it always her tail? And that stupid bird! Of course it would do that, though. It had just announced that it could teleport, after all. She shook herself slightly, hugging the Umbreon to her, and saw Flame watching Scyther closely as the bug pushed himself back up. Shifting a bit, she took a few shaky steps towards Flame. He turned and stared up at her as Blacky began to awaken.

She rested the kit at his feet and turned away.

Scyther was struggling just to stay standing. Eve frowned to herself as she headed over and caught him by one blade-free upper arm. The best she could do right now was try to help Scyther and Fervo. Mewtwo and the Absol seemed to have disappeared into the trees; the dark type probably hoped to use them as cover. Eve frowned again. Anything that could evade Mewtwo for that long was bound to be trouble.

Scyther was staring at her. She blinked a moment before looking away. "_We need to check on Fervo._"

"What happened to Jianna?"

Eve pulled Scyther back to his feet and started walking. "_She's broken,_" she said finally. "_I smashed her ribs in._"

The insect was silent until they reached Fervo. When he did speak again, it was a question she didn't want to contemplate the answer to. "Did you kill her?"

Eve tried to shut her eyes against her own malice as she remembered how she'd thrown the woman into the water. Jianna hadn't tried to swim. She'd been still, right up until the other figures in black had pulled her from the water. She answered as honestly as she could. "_I don't know. I... I might have._" Scyther didn't say anything as she let him go to check on the Treecko. Behind them, the Absol came shooting out of the trees, Mewtwo still fast behind it. Eve's mouth twitched without her meaning it to. It had probably figured out that the forest didn't offer as much protection from Mewtwo as one would think it did- and the trees reduced the ability to dodge besides. Eve almost felt sorry for the Absol as she turned back to the Treecko. She nudged him, glad to see that at least he was still alive. "_Fervo, I'd swear you do this on purpose,_" she muttered, remembering how dazed and not with it the Treecko had been when they'd been introduced. "_How'd you get beat up this time?_" There was no answer. Eve had hoped maybe the mental contact would stir him a bit, but it didn't. She tried nudging him again, shaking his shoulders gently, loathsome to give up. "_Come on, please wake up?_"

"Let him go!"

Eve's head snapped up. That damn bird had come back while she wasn't looking. Growling softly, she let go of Fervo and got back to her feet just as Scyther moved to step forward. He teetered, and she reached over to catch him before he could fall. Blacky was in a state of panic as the psychic bird lifted Flame into the air. Eve pulled on the heated energy she still had left, intending to flambé the stupid feathered freak while it was distracted, when across the way she saw the Absol stiffen with it's eyes glazed over slightly, almost taking a shadow ball in the process. A crackling bolt of light dropped from the sky, electricity, wasn't it? It missed the bird by inches. The startled flying type squawked and dropped Flame. "Dione," it shouted, "watch where you are aiming!" The Absol said nothing, back to jumping around the shadow balls. Eve wondered if that hadn't been deliberate. It was too convenient...

Flame was growling something at the bird again. Come to think of it, Eve could have sworn she'd seen one of these things in a picture book back then. What was it called, what was it called..? If she could just remember what it was, maybe she could remember other things about it and figure out how to fight it! She saw Flame's body stiffen, his eyes widen. "Blacky, run!" The kit took off towards the battered cliffs, and Eve's breath caught as the bird... oh, she needed that name... turned towards him, eyes flashing. Blacky's paws lifted off the ground, his body careening to the side suddenly. Flame screamed. "Blacky! Leave him alone, now!"

The bird's eyes were still sickeningly blue. "Now, why would I want to do that?" He sounded amused by the thought. Eve realized she was growling again, deep in her throat. Her whole body wanted to run out there. She'd fought too hard to reclaim the kit already, she'd be damned if-

"_Stay where you are._" Eve blinked and looked across at Mewtwo. Their eyes met across the tattered field. "_Stay where you are,_" he repeated. His voice was clear again; she was the only one who could hear him. She nodded weakly.

The bird had a lilting, taunting tone in its grating voice that was too familiar to her. "I am not going to throw away a perfectly good hostage. Your clone friends can't kill me, the resulting pulse would destroy the Umbreon here. You lot try and I'll crush him myself, if you are lucky."

For the first time since she'd met him, Flame looked defeated. "What do you want?"

"Ah, you are not as stupid as you look." The bird cackled. "Well, I was ordered to take this Blacky back to the mistress in one form or another. Esteria would prefer him alive, seeing as she wishes to raise him further to fulfill her twisted aim of being a mother." Scyther muttered something under his breath. Eve couldn't make out the word, but she assumed it wasn't good. "But I may be persuaded to let him escape if..." He trailed off, waiting.

Flame rose to the bait. "If what?"

If the bird had possessed a mouth and not a beak, Eve just knew it would be smirking. "If the bug is slain."

Nothing could have torn her eyes away from the bird- except, maybe, for Scyther suddenly shoving her away. Eve squeaked, staggering to stay on her feet. "_Scyther, what are you doing!?_"

The insect trudged towards the bird. "I'm eighteen," He said. "I've lived my life, no matter how bad the last years were, and Blacky is not going to lose that chance."

He stopped halfway to the bird. Eve tensed, trying to think of a way to stop him, when Mewtwo's voice cut across the clearing. "_Evetwo, let Scyther go._" Eve stared over at him in disbelief. This was one of her friends; she couldn't just let go! She stared at Mewtwo helplessly, silently pleading with him to do something, and saw the Absol drop out of sight abruptly. Oh, no...

"Fuck that," came the mumbling from her feet. The Treecko stirred, raising one arm as Scyther tensed his own. The absorb attack caught the bird by surprise and it staggered where it stood. It turned, following the path of its stolen energy.

"You fool!" The bird cried out, launching another wave of psychic energy after the green glowing lights. Fervo caught the energy balls, flattening them and forming a shield to hold the attack back. Eve blinked; she would have to ask him how he did that. It might come in handy if they all lived through this. The bird spun around, enraged further by Fervo's defiance of death, and turned on Blacky. "I'll kill you all! Every last one of you!"

The ground in front of him warped. Eve stared, amazed, as the Absol- Dione, was it?- came springing up out of the earth. The blade on his head cleaved the flying type's chest, the feathered beast screeching in pain and surprise. The Absol landed besides Blacky, glaring over at his feathered compatriot. "I will do almost anything that my mistress asks of me," he said angrily. "I'll hurt people, kill Pokémon if need be, all at her command." He took a menacing step towards the bird. "But helping an attack on a kit is unacceptable. So I'm giving you my resignation notice!"

Quicker than she could really notice it, Scyther drew the blade away from his neck. There was a flash of blue and the bird staggered back further, over the edge of the cliff. It flapped in the air, fighting to stay aloft, when Mewtwo finished the job. The shadow ball sent feathers flying as the bird plummeted to the ground. Across the way, Blacky struggled to his feet. He almost fell once, and it was the Absol of all Pokémon who leaned in against him to help him stand. The kit looked up at him, all wide-eyed innocence. "Thank you."

"No problem," the Absol replied with a careful shrug. "Xatus are not that tough to take down once you've hit them."

That was what it was! Eve remembered the storybook now, the one she'd read back then. It was about an Indian Medicine Man and the mystic Pokémon that had guided his visions. And it wouldn't have helped at all if she had remembered earlier, she thought sadly. Well, at least she'd tried.

At her feet, Fervo was pushing himself to a standing position. She knelt down. "_Need a hand?_"

Fervo stared at her, and then at the gash in her leg. "I could ask you the same question. What'd you do, have a run in with a lawn mower?"

Lawn mowers, those were human contraptions for cutting grass. Well, a Treecko would think they were the enemy, then. Eve stared at Fervo and tried not to smile at the image of him running around in circles, being chased by a Rocket with a lawn mower. "_Yeah, you're gonna be fine._"

The Treecko quirked a brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Eve gave him the best innocently honest look she could as she stood back up. She even tried tilting her head to one side like she didn't quite understand what he was saying, the way Blacky would. "_Just that if you can be that sarcastic right after waking up, you can't be hurt that badly._"

"Gee, thanks," the Treecko grumbled. Eve laughed gently as Fervo shook himself off. All of her friends were okay now. It felt good.

There was the sound of a throat clearing softly. Eve looked over at the Absol, which was facing everyone else. After the hateful glare it'd given her earlier, she wasn't quite surprised that it didn't look her way. "That is everything," He said carefully. "You won. It'll be at least a few days before they are ready to launch another attack, more than enough time to get away and find somewhere safe-" The white Pokémon tensed up, staring past Flame. The Charmander stared back for a moment before suddenly tensing up and collapsing to the ground. No, he didn't collapse, he was thrown. Flame rolled, launching a stream of fire at the air behind him, and Eve heard a shrill screaming. Oh. It was that thing again.

Flame growled, trying to get away from it, but the Kecleon grabbed him by the tail. Eve looked around for any rocks she could fling when she saw a second, familiar haze in the air. The Kecleon rose into the air and was flung, quite painfully, to the side as his attacker materialized further- but not all the way. Blacky's tail started to wag, and Eve almost felt like doing the same thing as the kit let out an excited cry. "Anti!"

"Mewtwo," the phantom said even as he bore down on the startled chameleon, "You are going to have a lot of explaining to do when Mew gets here. You are so getting grounded for this." Eve couldn't help giggling slightly. She knew what that phrase meant.

Mewtwo stared at the phantom in disgust- apparently he did, too. "_You cannot possibly be expecting Mew to even attempt such a thing."_

Anti never took his eyes off the Kecleon. "I am Mew, remember, and that's what I'd do." The transparent kitten lunged forward suddenly, seizing hold of the Kecleon. The startled chameleon vanished in a haze of white light. Anti nodded, satisfied. "Short range teleport. One of the few abilities I didn't lose when I died."

Eve was about to say hello when she was distracted by a noise from the cliffs. She turned in time to see a wide crack spreading along the rocks, threatening to take Blacky and the Absol down with tons of rock. The kit scrambled to run but couldn't; the Absol bent down and bit him hard on the back of his neck before shooting forward. Eve tensed. She could still fly to get a hold of them, if she didn't Blacky would be hurt. But before she could move there was a metallic creaking from behind her and the cool breath of a shadow on her back. Eve turned just as a giant leg thumped down onto the ground next to her. On one level, her mind knew that this thing she was staring at was a machine, not a real Pokémon. On the other hand, the only thing her conscious brain could really apply to it was 'giant spider.' And it was 'staring' right at her. She shrieked, scrambling back from the cliffs and flying to duck behind Mewtwo. He was the only one big enough for her to hide behind, after all, and damn it, he'd said to let him do the fighting! "_Get it away!_"

Anti stared at the mechanical hulk, see-though eyes wide. "Ariados tank! Mewtwo, don't fight it and get Eve to the trees! I'll slow it down."

Fervo was scrambling away from the cliff's newest edge. Eve could have kicked herself when she realized she'd left him behind. "Slow it down?" The Treecko sounded disbelieving. "We blew it off a cliff and it doesn't seem any bloody slower to me!"

"Just shut up and get to the trees," Anti ordered. "It can't hurt me anyway, so move it." He gave Flame and Blacky a push in the right direction. Eve decided it would be a good idea to just do as she was told for once and headed for cover on her own. Anything to get away from that machine.

She passed Scyther along the way and started to turn back when she realized the insect wasn't following. His legs were too badly injured for running, and she didn't think she could pull him on her own this time. "_Mewtwo!_" The other clone followed her gaze and nodded, seizing the wounded bug by his arm. Behind them, the phantom was trying to draw the machine's attention away from them. Eve felt a pang of guilt. She should be helping! There had to be something she could still do!

There was a white streak from over by the edge as the Absol came shooting into view, racing between the giant machine's legs. "Sir Anti," he shouted, and had it been any other circumstances Eve would have laughed at the title, "get clear and let me slow it down for you!" Anti nodded, darting to the side, and Dione turned towards the spider tank. There was a strange white glowing before he shot a ray of ice at the mechanized monster, freezing its legs to the floor. Eve stopped to gape as the robot struggled against the ice but didn't break free. She could never have held something like that in place!

Blacky was grinning. "That was cool!" The Absol returned the kit's grin, and Eve almost smiled herself. Blacky thought everything was cool.

She stared at the ice again, and then at the Absol that created it, awed. Wasn't he supposed to be a dark type? "_How did you do that?_"

For a moment, she thought she saw just a little of the anger he'd had in his eyes before coming back. "I'll tell you later," Dione said quickly. "Now move it, that won't hold it for long!" Even as he spoke there was a crackling sound almost like glass breaking as the ice groaned under the pressure of the machinery. Eve nodded and bolted back towards the trees, Blacky right at her feet. Even Flame seemed to be making better time than usual. Mewtwo had settled Scyther against a tree and was turning back to the giant spider. He nodded once, and Eve saw the swirling black energy of the shadow ball forming.

"_I shall handle this._"

"No!"

Anti yelled too late as the shadow ball whizzed by him. Eve stared, stunned, as the glittering black energy practically vanished on contact with the hulking spider-mobile- only to be thrown right back at its original sender moments later as a deadly black beam. Mewtwo threw his arms up as though to reinforce his barrier and Eve held her breath as the beam hit hard enough to send small sparks of light into the air. The beam faded after a few tense seconds, and Mewtwo's barrier shattered. She could read the shock on his face clearly as he stared at the mechanical beast. "_It deflected my attack..._" He turned on the phantom kitten. "_How is this possible?_"

Anti was practically shaking as he darted towards the cliffside, drawing the giant spider away from them again. "It's built to fight you! Of course it is designed to take what you can throw at it, you idiot!" Evetwo cringed slightly. Even the normal Mew hadn't sounded that mad when she'd run off in Saffron. The phantom darted upwards through the air until he was above the spider. "Mewtwo, shadow ball me!"

"_What?_" Over her own 'voice' she was aware of Mewtwo asking the same question.

"Just do it," the kitten ordered. "Shoot me or I'll slap you one!" Mewtwo stared at the see-through kitten for a moment before complying, charging a smallish shadow ball and flinging it at the phantom. Anti scowled and ducked under it. "Put some effort into it. I need something lethal here. Don't worry about hurting me, I'm already dead. So just shoot already!"

Mewtwo stared at him for a second before nodding curtly and charging a second shot. The spider machine had almost gotten to the phantom when Mewtwo fired of the shot, ripping through the see-through kitten. Eve had to fight to keep from retching as the attack shredded Anti's ghostly body- and then both the cat and the black energy started to glow a brilliant pink. The shadow ball that had ripped through the ghostly entity actually fractured into dozens of smaller particles of energy. The ghostly Mew was grinning as he started to absorb the power from the blast, each globe of dark energy growing and swirling inside his transparent body. The shadowy form sharpened to the point that Eve could actually see the way the fur came to a point at the tips of his ears. Suddenly the clear kitten didn't look so clear any more. Now a vivid, deep gray, he actually looked quite solid. "Now this is more like it," Anti laughed, his ears twitching in delight. "I'm back and ready to play!"

The giant spider had paused, and Eve could just imagine the men controlling it scratching their heads at their computers trying to figure out what had just happened. Then the motorized beast lurched back into action, one giant leg raising into the air with the painfully obvious intent of coming down on the kitten's head. Anti watched it coming, and Eve almost ran to distract it when the phantom reached up and caught the incoming appendage. There was a sharp squeal of metallic gears as the mechanized monster fought to push the kitten down, but Anti held his ground. "Now you'll see why I'm the Antimew," the cat growled suddenly, shooting off to the side. The leg he had been supporting hit the ground with enough force to leave a small indentation where it landed. Anti flew forward, seizing the monster machine by the leg and pulling with his whole body. The clone had to cover her ears against the scream of metal ripping away from metal, backing away from the sound. When she looked up again, Anti had succeeded in ripping the leg off entirely. With an almost manic smirk, the kitten slammed the leg into the spider's main body. There were sounds of a small explosion or two and a brief shower of sparks before the robot stopped moving completely, smoke pouring out of the mechanical mess. "Never pick on my sister ever again," Anti crowed at it, waving his tail triumphantly, before he turned back to them and waved as though nothing had happened. "So, what did I miss?"

Fervo was staring. "Uh... what's with the sudden solid-ness?" Anti shrugged as he came over to meet him, having to push down a rather exuberant Umbreon in the process.

The phantom scratched an ear almost nervously. "I'm made of pure energy, so I just absorbed the shadow ball to give me a massive boost of the stuff." The kitten tilted his head to one side. "Takes a load of space to do it though, if the shadow ball had hid anything then it'd have blew up and probably taken me with it. My turn to ask, you guys okay?"

Fervo was the first to speak up, again. "I'm fine, Flame came back from the dead," Eve glanced at the Charmander, who didn't seem to appreciate being ratted on. "Blacky seems to be unharmed." And wagging his tail, Eve thought with a smile. "Scyther's in bad shape though, the poor guys knackered himself."

The Absol cut in. "The injuries he has sustained are not deadly, but his exhaustion might be if he continues to push himself."

Anti considered this for about half a second. "Right. Eve, you okay?"

The sudden attention caught her off guard. Eve nodded carefully. It wasn't a complete lie, after all. She'd be fine after she slept fifty or so hours and used recover a time or twenty. Anti didn't look convinced, though.

"You go sit down over there near Scyther, see if you can stop him trying to move." It wasn't an order exactly, but she nodded again anyway. Sitting sounded good. She glanced at the phantom, finally taking the time to notice that he was alone.

"_Where's Mew?_"

"He's on his way, " the kitten said flippantly. "He's just having trouble with the masses of Rockets that are running away. I'm hard to see, white isn't."

Blacky blinked, perplexed. It wasn't just him, Mewtwo also looked up rather quickly. "Mew is pink." Eve turned and started walking away. She didn't want to know.

There was a rather devious smirk on Anti's face when she glanced back over her shoulder. "Not right now he ain't," the phantom confided.

Eve groaned quietly to herself, wanting to know even less now than she had before. It'd been too much already. Slowly she headed towards the trees, doing her best not to betray herself by limping. Of all the wounds on her body, her leg had to hurt the worst. Finally she flopped down on the grass by Scyther, amazed that it was still green around the tree she propped herself up against. If she leaned mostly to her left and didn't put her full weight against it, she could almost rest against the tree without her back hurting too much. "_Sitting is so under-rated._"

The insect just nodded. Eve wondered vaguely how he was still conscious; he was in worse shape than she was. Hanging on by pure will alone, she thought with a giggle. Scyther looked over at her curiously. "Is something funny?"

"_I was just thinking..._" The clone looked up at the sky, watching the sunrise colors streaking across it. "_Team Rocket tries so hard to outwit us, calculating our weaknesses to bolster their strengths, judging us by speed and power and stamina, but it's never going to be any good because you just can't measure spirit, and that's the one thing we've all got too much of to call it quits._" She rested her head against the tree. "S_ometimes I think that's the only thing I've going for me. How are you still awake? I could gladly pass out right now._"

Scyther looked ready to say something when they were both distracted by a commotion from the beach. The robotic spider was on its feet again! Eve groaned. "_You have got to be kidding me!_" Scowling, she started to push herself back to her feet as Blacky turned running at some order Anti shouted that she couldn't quite hear over the leaves in the trees. The wind had picked a lovely time to pick up again. Still, Eve was fairly sure she had heard the words "run now" towards the end of the phantom's statement, and if she had it would probably be best to listen. The kit vaulted his way over her legs and ducked for cover on her other side as Anti suddenly called for everyone to wait. Eve held where she was; Scyther hadn't even moved yet. Blacky looked up at her from where he was crouched by her leg.

"Hi!"

For a moment, Eve wondered if the psychic damage had done something to the kit's brain. Then again, he'd been clueless during the fight with the Tentacruel too, hadn't he? Reaching down, she patted him on the head. "_Come on. I want to hear what they're saying._"

"First he said to run because it's going to explode if you guys get anywhere near it, and then he said to wait!"

Eve groaned to herself. Didn't that make hiding next to her dangerous? "_Do me a favor, Blacky, get back to where Flame is, okay? He'll be worried if he looks up and you're over here._" The kit nodded, bounding back to the others as the wind got stronger. Eve raised her head, watching the branches shake above her. Something wasn't natural about this. A sudden chill passed over her and Eve found herself bathed in a green glow for about half a second. Startled, she looked back over to the others. Mewtwo was extending a barrier of some sort around the island, one that was effectively blocking out the wind. Eve grumbled to herself. She wanted to get over there right now! She shifted so she could use the tree to pull herself to her feet. "_Are you going to be okay over here if I leave you alone? Anti said you're not supposed to move._"

Scyther almost seemed to be laughing at her on some level. "Wasn't that more of an excuse to make you rest?"

"_Do you have any idea how often I actually listen to them?_" She asked in counter as she finally worked her way to her feet and looked back over at the others. She answered her own question, stating the obvious before he could. "_Not often._" The ghostly Mew had lost his solidity in the brief moments she'd looked away. The kitten was forming a golden globe with the energy he was releasing, a brilliantly bright sphere of light. The robot was getting closer to them when suddenly Eve saw the light go rocketing up into the sky, blowing away what few clouds it passed through and lighting the sky up as though the sun had come out in full. Eve raised her hand to shield her eyes, trying to see what the light was actually doing, when another shadow passed in front of it first. A bird.

No, not just any bird.

It was the biggest bird she'd ever seen in her entire life. Either of them, even! The great white behemoth pulled its massive wings in against its body and dove, shooting down towards the island. She could just see the haze of the barrier Mewtwo had set as the bird skimmed over it, arching its long neck. On the other side of the barrier, the giant mechanical spider was being pelted with bits of debris kicked up in the wind. The bird gave its wings one mighty flap as it settled over the island, and Eve saw the metallic beast actually rise into the air and topple end-over-end back over the cliff that it had climbed from, spinning out into the air over the water. Eve stepped forward a bit, away from the tree she'd been leaning against, as the bird landed on the cliff's edge and eyed the machine as it was still in the air. Two rows of dark feathers along its back began to glow suddenly, the bright light shooting off at the machine even as it fell towards the seas below. The robot spider exploded on impact with the glowing attack, and the bird nodded once before becoming engulfed in a brilliant glow of it's own. Eve's eyes widened as the massive Pokémon started to shrink down, compressing and condensing down into a far tinier package. Mewtwo's barrier fell around them as the once-great bird finally re-assumed the form of a tiny pink kitten. Mew looked up at them all with a smile.

"Morning," the kitten sang out cheerfully. "Sorry I'm a little late!"


	32. Vacation At Last

I. Am. Soooo. Tired. No, rilly. Oh-dark-thirty is no hour to update. But here I am, bringing ya'all the latest chapter. 'Cause I love my fans. Yes I do. Um... funny stuff starting now... just silly crap an' we had fun with it. Please review. G'night.

* * *

Eve would have run and hugged the kitten if she had been capable of it. Mew's cockeyed grin was the only assurance she needed that things really were okay again. Immediately Blacky rushed to jump at the kitten, a bundle of excitement as usual. Eve kind of envied him as she moved forward, doing her best not to look like she was hurting. It seemed like everyone beat her there. Flame and Fervo wanted to know what had happened, Mewtwo was demanding to know what took so long, and the Umbreon was being his usual sociable self. Only Scyther hung back, unable to walk that far, and the Absol that had a rather wary look on his face. Eve stood at the edge of the treeline, watching as Mew tried to dodge everyone's questions. Maybe once everyone had settled down, she could talk to Mew on her own. 

Of course, Mew never did as anyone else wanted. Once he'd finally figured out where she was standing, the kitten made it a point to work his way over. Fervo seemed on the verge of toppling over again- she was fairly sure that it had been Blacky's fault- and that gave Mew a break over his head. "Hey, come on! Aren't you going to at least say hi to me?" Eve smiled weakly and the kitten stopped suddenly and stared at her. "Sit," he ordered abruptly. "You sit down right now."

Eve groaned. "_I don't need to sit down,_" she protested weakly. It seemed like that was everyone's advice anyway. Eve didn't want to sit, she wanted to lay down and sleep!

"You do, too! You're going to go right over there and plant yourself down this instant!" Mew nodded curtly, and she wondered if he had any idea how embarrassing this was. Knowing Mew, he definitely did. Eve saw Blacky yawn widely as she shuffled over and leaned back against a tree. She was too tired emotionally to argue with Mew, but if she sat down, she wouldn't want to get back up. The kitten floated his way over, looking her up and down. "You're a mess."

"_I'm fine,_" she mumbled stubbornly. The kitten nosed at her side a moment, which hurt like all get-out when he got to close to the whip wounds. Were those damn things still open? Eve did her best to ignore the pain, both in her body and in her mind. "_Did you get the little girl out?_"

"Of course I did." Mew ran his nose along her arm. "And it's no use lying, you're even thinking that you hurt. Eve, what happened?"

The clone scowled. "_Why don't you ask him,_" she muttered with a nod towards Mewtwo. "_He was the one who let us all down._"

Mewtwo glared at her quietly for a moment. "_I was trying to prevent something like this from occurring. I did what I thought was best._"

"_Yeah, leaving without telling anyone is really best,_" Eve snapped, feeling all the anger she had forgotten coming back full force. Mewtwo looked ready to protest, but she cut him off, her weariness vanishing. "_Oh, right, you did tell someone. Everyone but me!_"

"Hey, calm down! Both of you!" Mew moved to get between the two clones, but Eve looked right over him. It was easy, really it was. Mew was so very tiny, after all. So tiny, and always telling her what to do. That made her mad, everyone telling her what to do. Eve growled.

"_I will not calm down!_" She was vaguely aware of the fact that she'd stopped 'whispering' between the three of them, but she didn't really care any more. This was probably the only good chance she'd get to do this. Like it or not, Mewtwo would have to take notice of her now. She waved an arm to the destruction around them. "_You see this? This is all his fault! He abandoned us when he knew we were in danger to go off and do god knows what, leaving us behind to be attacked!_"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. "_I was trying to stop Team Rocket before they reached this place. I had hoped to-_"

"_Hoped to what?_" Eve cut him off, only vaguely aware now of Mew trying to placate her. "_What did you hope to accomplish out there, Mewtwo? What did you hope to do?_" She shoved herself away from the tree she was leaning on, trying to get more level with him, sick of the way he was always taller, always looking down at her. "_They would have realized we were alone the minute they saw you! You didn't just leave us open to be attacked, you gave them the opportunity in the first place! This is your fault!_"

Mew looked like he'd reached the point of desperation when Anti shot up out of nowhere, literally skimming through the kitten and scaring Eve half out of her wits. "Both of you two stop arguing!"

Mewtwo's jaw ticked slightly. "_I was not arguin-_"

"Don't back-talk me!" the kitten cut him off sharply. Eve had all but forgotten her own anger- especially when Anti turned on her. "You are going to shut the hell up and park you tail down right there, young lady!" He pointed to a stretch of grass.

Eve was more than glad to take the opportunity presented to get away from the phantom. She scooted backwards, fighting to keep her balance, and plunked down exactly where Mew had pointed her earlier. Mew was staring at his phantom self with a rather stunned expression. Mewtwo, she noted, was smirking slightly. She growled to herself. That stupid, smug, self-righteous...

Anti turned back on Mewtwo again. "Wipe that stupid grin off your face and go to your room!" The larger clone's eyes widened, the smirk vanishing in an instant. Mewtwo stared at the clear kitten a moment, stunned.

"_How what now?_" It was all Eve could do not to start laughing. Mewtwo flinched the moment he'd said the words, glaring at her slightly. Eve really had to fight back a laugh now.

"Shut up and go to your room! I'll deal with you later." Anti scowled at Mewtwo until he turned away, glowering silently at her as he went.

"_We are not finished with this yet,_" he 'whispered' angrily as he disappeared, Anti staring at his back the whole time. Eve highly doubted he would actually go to the caves as he had been ordered to. He was too stubborn for that. He'd probably go sulk on the rocks or something, quietly proving a point. Eve leaned back against a tree. Suddenly she was very, very tired. How long had it been since she'd slept? A full day by now, she thought. And it had been such a long day, and such a long night. She shook herself slightly, trying to stay awake, and glanced over at Mew.

"_Sorry,_" she mumbled weakly, realizing for the first time just how worried the kitten looked. "_I didn't mean to loose my temper like that..._"

Mew just shrugged it off. "You're cranky. It happens. I would be after having to look after this lot for an entire day on my own." The kitten raised his head to look over as Anti settled onto the ground, glancing over his shoulder.

"There's something else to it," The phantom muttered, nodding towards Dione. "I've seen that Absol before." Dione nodded politely in return, but he looked slightly fearful. "Used to belong to Jianna. Which means she was here."

"Well, she isn't any more." Eve wondered how Mew could sound so unconcerned. "Shame, I never got to smack her." She winced inwardly. She'd probably hurt the woman enough for both of them.

"I did in my world. Tree, strait to the head." Anti seemed rather proud. Eve had a hard time believing the boast, though.

"_Don't you mean a tree-branch?_"

"Nope. Anyway, we'd better help you lot back to the caves before you fall asleep. We can talk more when you're all awake." Eve nodded gratefully at the phantom. Sleep would be good. Sleep would be very good.

Mew smirked. "Knowing Eve, that could be a while."

"_And what is that supposed to mean?_" Eve stared at the cat, trying to look intimidating. All she really managed was to glare at him a bit, though.

"Uh... Flame did it," Mew pointed his tail at the Charmander. Where had he come from? Eve blinked a few times. Oh, no, she'd been yelling in front of everyone, hadn't she?

Flame backed away. "Don't drag me into this. I've been beaten up enough for one night!"

Eve couldn't help it. She laughed slightly. "_Mew, next time accuse Anti. He at least sounds a little like you._"

"I don't sound like him," Anti protested. "He sounds too whiny!"

"I'm the whiney one? That's rich. All I got on the way there was '_are we there yet_' and all that crap." Mew made a soft scoffing noise. "Considering that your job was getting shot at, that seems a little whiney to me."

"You still owe me for that," Anti said quickly. "I know bullets don't hurt but it feels really violating when one goes strait up my-"

Mew cut him off with a shout. "Ear!" Eve raised an eyebrow. How young did Mew think she was?

Anti just went on, unhindered. "It was a tracer round, too. One of the glowy ones. They tickle." He sounded amused.

Mew didn't. "Can we please change the subject?"

"Okay." Anti sounded a little too cheerful. "How about this: you suck. I like it. Snappy and strait to the point" Eve wasn't sure what was funnier, Mew's exasperated expression or the knowledge that in some twisted way, the kitten was arguing with himself. Behind the kittens, Blacky was trotting over. He flopped down next to Flame and yawned. Eve couldn't stop herself; she yawned too.

Mew caught her at it. "You. Bed. Now."

Eve's eyes widened. "_I can't help it! When someone else yawns, I yawn!"_

The kitten rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh. Sure you do. Come on, scoot."

"_Everyone does it! When someone yawns, it's like it's contagious or something! Right, Flame?_" She looked to the Charmander for backup.

Flame raised a paw, chewing on an apple. "I don't know what that word means."

Eve frowned, about to ask Anti for some sort of confirmation- not that she thought for a second that it would actually work- when Fervo wove his way over and threw an arm around the Charmander's shoulder. "Flamey!"

If looks could kill, the Treecko would have dropped dead. "Get off of me," Flame growled.

"Naw." Fervo started poking him. "You know what I like about you?"

Flame resigned himself to fate. "No." Eve frowned, trying to stifle another yawn. Drat, drat, drat, couldn't let mew see that.

"You're thick," The Treecko announced, sounding quite proud of himself.

Flame stared at him. "...Excuse me?"

"You're thickity-thickity-thick-thick. And so is your mom." Fervo pitched forward suddenly, hitting the ground face-first. And then he snored.

"_What the hell was that?_"

"Watch your language," Mew chided.

Anti was staring down at the Treecko as though considering giving him a kick in the head. "You do not want to know. At least he isn't like his cousin in that respect, or he'd probably be in a much worse condition than sleeping right now."

Eve yawned again, not even bothering to hide it, and shoved her way to her feet. "I don't know about you guys, but I have to crash now. Good night."

She heard Anti making some sort of comment as she went, but ignored it. Her head hurt, her whole body ached, and walking through the forest right now wasn't much fun. In the morning light, she could see a clear path forged through the trees and several spots where the grass had been flattened, large circular impressions. Eve stopped in the middle of one of them, trying to remember clearly what had happened in that spot exactly. She knew what the circle was- the markings of her own shockwave. But at the same time it was just too large to have come from her, wasn't it?

She made it to the caves without incident and stopped. Mewtwo was standing up on the rocks above the entryway, looking out towards the ocean. He made no indication of knowing that she was there, but she knew he did. He always knew when she was there. She stood on the ground below him, waiting to see if he'd make good on his assurance that they'd 'finish later,' but Mewtwo never moved. He had chosen to just ignore her, then. She hurried down into the caves before he changed his mind.

Eve had never been quite so glad to see her own little corner of the den. She practically fell onto her quilt, glad that at least it had survived Flame and Fervo's little incident. The fabric was cool against her fur and soft against the wounds on her body. She pulled the blanket around her, curling her body up and pulling her tail around over her nose. Sleep was so welcome right now... just close her eyes and let it all go away...

She didn't know how much time had elapsed when she woke up again, and frankly, she didn't care. Not even semi-conscious, Eve attempted to snuggle back into her blankets, into sleep, as some annoying intrusion tried to force her into the outside world. The outside world could just go away. Sleep was nicer, all soft and safe, with a comforting warmth that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She thought she might even have dreamed of the warmth. Not a memory this time, not a glimpse of back then, but a real, happy dream all her own. She couldn't quite remember what it was about, but she knew it was a kind dream, like a soft touch or a gentle voice. Nice...

Something was intruding in her personal space. Eve stirred slightly, trying to ignore the beckoning outside world, when something soft and wet slapped against her face. Eve yelped, jerking to a sitting position and instinctively lashing out at whatever it was that was attacking her. Something green went flying, crashing into a wall. Fervo. Eve's eyes widened as he slid to the floor. "_What the hell were you doing?!?_"

The Treecko shook himself slightly as he sat up. "Waking you up. That hurt, you know." Eve stared at him, trying to figure out if he'd really done what she thought he'd just done.

"_You..._" Something wet was sticking to her fur under her quilt. Perplexed, Eve reached down and pulled out a damp leaf. She stared at it a moment, and then at Fervo, who was smirking. "_Bastard._"

"What? Are you upset that I used a leaf to fake a kiss?" The smirk widened until the Treecko was almost grinning.

Eve was ready to tell him off when Flame cut her off with a telepathic warning from his seat on her tattered comforter. _"Whatever you do, don't say yes. Just don't."_ Eve blinked a couple of times before heeding the warning. Flame sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

"_Um... no."_ That seemed to be the right answer, at least in that Flame seemed relieved. Fervo just grinned wider.

"Then don't complain!"

Ugh. This was too confusing to deal with first thing in the morning. Was it morning? Eve knew it had been morning when they first went to sleep, but it had been really early still. What time was it now? Too early, her bed was still too cozy to leave. At the same time, however, it was far too late to go back to sleep. Fervo's stupid leaf trick had her wide awake. Eve realized she was staring at the green lizard. "_Why did you wake me up?_"

"Oh!" Fervo's whole face lit up as he clapped his paws. "I'd almost forgotten. It's about Scyther's injuries!"

If there had been any doubt that she and Flame were awake before, it was gone now. Eve jerked up, scrambling to her feet and regretting it immediately. Just how much energy had she lost yesterday? She lowered her head a moment before standing straighter to keep from toppling back over from her own dizziness. "What's wrong with him? What about his injuries?!"

Fervo hemmed over the question for a moment. "Well, uh... how to put this? It's complicated."

Eve wasn't the only one who was anxious. "Fervo," came a low growl from the Charmander, "just say it."

Fervo looked ready to deliberate a little longer when another voice chimed in from the door. "Scyther healed." Eve turned to find the insect watching them. She couldn't do anything but stare when she realized that all the blood, all the wounds for that matter, were gone. No, not quite gone. It looked like there might still be a hair of a crack on his armored body here and there. But for all practical purposes, Scyther was up and ready to go again- complete, it seemed, with his funny way of talking. After a moment of stunned silence, Eve realized the bug was staring right back at her. He nodded. "Miss Eve seems to have recovered as well."

Eh? Eve stared down at herself. The blood staining her fur was gone as well, and a quick examination showed the gashes on her side to be gone. She twitched her shoulders experimentally. There was no aching protest from the muscles on her back. Eve swung her tail around to look at it. Nothing. Even the burn Flame had given her was gone. "_How did this happen?_"

Fervo sounded disbelieving. "Are you complaining?" Eve shook her head quickly, prodding at the tip of her tail. It was as good as new.

Scyther leaned against the doorway. "Maybe it is the same force that revived Flame," he suggested with another brief nod of his head. Eve frowned. She never had asked exactly what happened, did she? No, of course she hadn't, she'd never had the time to. She turned to look at Flame, who had a puzzled look on his face.

"Jirachi," he mumbled. Jirachi? Oh, that little thing that had called Mew away. "She would be able to do that, but why?"

"_Maybe she felt bad about calling Mew away?_" Eve gave her tail a few experimental swishes to be sure it was limber again, seriously considering giving Fervo a playful knock or two as revenge. "_It would explain the dream I had, anyway._"

"Dream?"

"_Yeah._" She tried rotating the shoulder she had jammed next. What had she hurt that one on again? Oh, right. Better not to think about that. "_Well, I think it was a dream. I don't really remember. I just remember feeling really warm while I was sleeping, and safe, like there was someone looking out for me._" Oh, great, they were staring at her now. Eve shifted one foot slightly and then froze as a soft grumbling filled the room. She immediately glanced downwards, only to stop as Flame and Fervo did the same thing. The Treecko scowled and rested a paw on his stomach.

"I think that was me," Fervo announced.

"_I don't know," _Eve admitted,_ "I'm kinda hungry, too._"

"I need another apple or three," Flame groaned.

Scyther stood staring at the three of them for a moment as though he wasn't sure what to say before he turned towards the steps. "That reminds Scyther, Mew said something about presents from Hoenn." Yep, the third-person speech was definitely back.

Eve perked. "_Presents?!_" Mew had said he'd bring candy! Scowling, Fervo dropped nearly to the floor to avoid her tail, but Eve didn't bother to apologize.

"Calm down before you take my head off," The Treecko nagged. "It can't be that good. I doubt Mewtwo'd let you keep a Ponyta." Ponyta? Oh, right, Eve actually remembered what that was- a kind of horse. It was pretty much every little girl's dream, wasn't it? Eve blinked a couple of times. He was making fun of her!

Flame sighed. "I'm not going to ask." He sounded like he was telling himself more than them as he headed up the stairs after Scyther. Eve quickly scrambled along after him.

Mew looked up when they came out. "About time you woke up. Come on, we've got a busy day!"

"_What about presents?_" After all they'd been through the past few days, it was good to have something they could look forward to. Mew just rolled his eyes.

"Anti's fetching them. We kinda left them off-shore, seeing as there were Rocket boats everywhere." The kitten's tail twitched, and Eve noticed Blacky watching it with keen interest. Suddenly the kit's whole body seemed to coil like a spring, and then he shot towards Mew, landing hard on his tail. The kitten's eyes widened for about half a second before he shot up into the air, howling. Blacky dropped back to the ground, spitting out a little fur. Eve couldn't help it- she started laughing. The expression on Mew's face had been too much.

The kitten landed a good ten feet away from the Umbreon, checking his tail and glaring at everyone. It seemed Eve wasn't the only one laughing; even Scyther was hiding a smirk behind one blade. The kitten scowled. "That is not funny!"

"_Yes it is!_" As many times as her tail had been landed on or otherwise injured, it was nice to see that Mew was no more immune to it than she was. It was, Eve decided, divine justice for the time Mew knocked her off of that train. Across from her, Blacky giggled.

"That was fun!"

Fervo piped in out of nowhere. "Should I point out that seeing as I used the wet leaf on both Flame and Eve, it counts as an indirect kiss between you two? Scarlet'd be furious." Eve turned to stare at him, wondering if she should freeze him or set him on fire, when the Treecko suddenly found himself glowing pink as Mew flung him very forcefully down the stairs.

"I really did not need that mental image," the kitten said with a soft retching sound. Eve nodded in agreement.

"_I'm not hungry anymore._"

"I am," Flame said with an eerie little smile. "How about we cook up a barbecue?"

"I'll go get the main course," Dione offered, slinking towards the stairs. It amazed her just how fast he'd been accepted into the little group. Then again, he had protected Blacky. That always counted for a lot.

"We are not eating Fervo!" Mew shook his head emphatically, and Eve thought he was going to start scolding until his mouth twitched. "You don't know where he's been."

Another voice piped in out of nowhere. "With the amount of Oran berries he managed to consume earlier and what's still left in his bloodstream, I daresay you'd all be drunk by the end of it." Eve turned towards a bluish glow in the clearing, staring a bit as the phantom materialized before them. "I'll never get used to shifting between the afterlife and here," the clear kitten muttered.

That had not been teleportation. Eve had seen things teleport, and it just didn't look like that. "_How did you do that?_"

The transparent kitten shrugged. "I have no idea," he said. "It's just something I just know how to do. I just knew, the moment I became a phantom in the first place."

Behind him, Mew winced slightly, and Eve thought she saw a flicker of sadness in the kitten's eyes. The look passed after a moment, and Eve looked around to see if anyone else had noticed. No one seemed to, but at her feet Flame was shuddering. After a moment the shaking ended and he glanced back over his shoulder as though he expected something to be there. Eve blinked as the Charmander noticed her watching him. "_Flame?_"

"I'm fine." The Charmander smiled weakly and focused back on Mew, who was heading into the trees. "What the hell are you doing now?"

The tiny psychic didn't even look back at them, just yelled over his shoulder at the Charmander. "Stop swearing in front of Eve!" Eve rolled her eyes and was ready to say something when Mew went on. "And I'm going to go prepare the first part of my little present."

If there was anything that could have made her decide not to pick a fight, it was that. "_Oh, I wanna see!_" Eve blinked at a strange sort of echo and turned to stare at Blacky, who had chimed in with the same words at the exact same time she had. The Umbreon stared up at her with wide eyes before laughing. Eve let herself grin at him before going after the kitten. This was actually fun! Having Mew around seemed to put everyone in a better mood, and if Dione was right and Team Rocket needed time to regroup, it meant they could finally relax. Maybe this life wasn't going to be so bad after all, Eve thought eagerly. Maybe it could be just as warm and happy as it had been back then. Maybe...

She didn't actually see the tree branch until she walked right into it. Eve squeaked, reaching up to rub her forehead, when she noticed a red flash. She caught two of the falling apples before they could hit her on the head and ducked in time to avoid the third. Flame dove to grab it as Eve examined the fruits that had almost attacked her. In front of everyone, too. That had been... embarrassing, to say the least. Still, the fruit looked ripe, and she was hungry! Shrugging to herself, she munched a little bit as they arrived at the beach. Eve stopped at the sight of a sleek red object parked on the rocks. "_Is that a boat?_"

"Yup." Mew grinned. "And once I turn it on, we're taking it for a spin. It'll be easy once I get inside the casing. The hard part is finding a screwdriver."

"I'm just going to nod and pretend I know what you two are on about," Flame muttered as Blacky raced past them and hoped into the boat. Mew followed along, pulling a toolbox out from under one of the rear seats. Eve climbed aboard and sat down to look at the controls as Mew dug through the box, hunting for an elusive screwdriver. Some of the controls seemed just a little bit familiar to her, and Eve closed her eyes to remember. Oh, right. They kind of looked like the radio in a car. She fiddled with it a little bit, turning the various dials, but couldn't turn it on. Pity...

She didn't even realize Fervo had shown up until he spoke. "You know," he addressed Mew, "You probably could just flip the ignition psychically instead of having to open it up and hot-wire it."

"There's no fun in that," the kitten responded from somewhere inside the massive toolbox. "Sometimes you just have to do things the long way, that's how I tick Celebi off. The long way. I could have done it faster by snogging Jirachi or something, but instead I save Flame. Probably the best move I ever made." Eve desperately didn't want to know what he was talking about. Mew rustled around a bit more. "No, that isn't it either. Damn!"

Eve wanted to tell Mew not to swear as Flame backed away from the box slightly, avoiding something that was flung rather forcefully from its depths. "_Incoming,_" she warned Fervo, but the message came too late. The Treecko ducked too slowly and the tool hit him squarely on the head.

"Ow!" Fervo's expression was comical as he clutched the rapidly forming red spot where he'd been hit. He glared at the toolbox. "Why the hell did you throw a wrench at me?!"

"So it wouldn't get in my way. You just stood in its trajectory." Mew logic. Eve shook her head. "Aha, screwdriver!" The cat laughed triumphantly as he climbed out of the toolbox carrying a small silver stick with a flat blade.

Fervo stared at him in disbelief. "You hit me on the head for that?!" He clenched his paws, but Mew brushed him off as he headed for the front of the boat. There was an almost manic grin on the kitten's face.

"Now let's crack this thing open!"

Flame stared at the psychic as he started examining the front of the boat. "You're going to electrocute yourself..."

Eve shook her head and glanced back to shore. Scyther and Dione were conversing quietly between the two of them. They almost seemed friendly with each other in spite of being on opposing sides just the day before. Then again, Eve thought, Dione hadn't really seemed like he was on either side at all, at least not when that stray thunderbolt broke the Xatu's hold on Flame. She still couldn't quite convince herself that the lucky strike had been an accident...

"Hey, Eve, what's this?"

Eve glanced down at Blacky, who was sitting on the driver's seat nosing at something under the steering wheel. "_Ah..._" What was the word for that? Oh, right. "_Those are keys._"

"What do they do?"

Eve tilted her head to one side. "_I think they turn this thing on._" She glanced forward. Mew had worked his way into the engine with Anti hovering close overhead, offering his own brand of 'helpful' hints. Personally, Eve didn't think "Hey, lick the battery" counted as sane advice. "_Hey, Mew? I don't think you need to do that!_" The kitten ignored her. "_Mew!_"

"I already told you, I'm doing this my way!"

The clone rolled her eyes. "_Do what you want, then,_" she muttered to herself. "_At least this way we know the boat will work._" She reached down and turned the keys.

There was an ear-splitting screech as the engine roared to life. At first Eve thought it was some sort of problem with the engine, and then she thought it just might be the radio that had come on at full blast. But then as she was fumbling to turn the blasted thing off again she saw Anti dive headfirst into the small compartment and realized what she had done. "_Mew!_" She stood up just as the phantom pulled the kitten out by his tail. Mew had a distinctly charred look to him as Anti carried him over to sit him on one of the seats. "_I am so sorry!_"

"What the hell did you do?" the kitten croaked. Blacky got his nose too close and was startled by a small electric shock. The kit jumped into the back seat with Flame, whimpering softly. Mew twitched slightly.

"_I turned the boat on,_" Eve mumbled.

Mew stared at her. "How?"

"_With the keys..._" The kitten looked disbelieving so Eve tried shifting so he could see the wheel. "_They were in the ignition the whole time._"

The kitten's eyes left her long enough to confirm that yes, there were indeed a set of keys before returning to their previous state of glaring at her. "I'd throttle you right now if I had any control over my motor functions."

Eve winced. "_I tried to tell you. You wouldn't listen._"

Mew mumbled something about excuses when the boat lurched suddenly. She could hear the engine threatening to stall as the contraption tried to force itself further up onto the beach for a moment before going back to it's previous idling state. Fervo climbed out from under the wheel. "I figured out how to make it go forward!"

Flame scowled. "We don't want it to go forward right now, stupid, we want it to go backwards!" Fervo just stared at him, and the Charmander rolled his eyes. "Into the water!"

The Treecko raised an eyebrow. "And you think I'm going to know how to do this why?"

"Maybe one of these buttons does it." Blacky examined the control panel eagerly, and before anyone could stop him he'd nosed the radio right back on. The sudden noise startled the kit, and he fled to the back seat once more. Eve reached over and turned it off again, motioning to the different knobs.

"_This whole part here is all for the radio, Blacky. It's not going to help the boat run. Fervo, how many pedals were under there?_"

"Two. One of them didn't do anything."

"_It was probably the brake,_" Eve muttered, staring at the different dials and switches. She looked to Mew for help, but he just turned his nose away stubbornly. Eve frowned and went back to examining the controls. She'd ridden in cars back then, and cars had a gas pedal and a break and a wheel and... and a stick, she remembered, that made them do different things when you moved them. There was a stick that looked kind of like the one in a car, one with little letters beside it. F, N, R. Eve ran a hand over the letters. Fervo stared at her.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

"_More than you did._" F, N, R... She closed her eyes, trying to remember how the car had looked. It had more letters than that, but she was nearly positive the 'R' had still been there- 'R' for reverse. It made sense- the stick was on 'F' for forward. She grabbed it and pulled it back to the letter she wanted. "_Hey, Fervo, try doing that again._" The Treecko looked skeptical. "_Just do it, okay?_"

"Fine, whatever." Fervo crawled back under the wheel and after a moment the craft lurched again. It was definitely trying to go backwards, but it seemed to be just a little stuck on the rocks. "Is it working?"

"_Just a second!_" Eve scrambled out of the boat and towards the front of it, slamming the cover back over the engine as she passed it. If she could give it a good shove, maybe it'd go back out into the water. Anti joined her as she examined the bow. "_Would just straight back work?_"

The phantom shrugged, grinning slightly. "You could try-"

"_Never mind. I heard your suggestions to Mew, I'll figure this one out on my own._" Anti shrugged again, not looking the least bit offended. Eve rested her hands on the front of the boat and shoved as hard as she could, trying to force it back over the water. It seemed smarter than trying to shove something that heavy telekinetically. She grinned when it gave slightly, but it was still being stubborn- until Scyther came over and rested a shoulder against it, helping her push. The boat broke free of the rocks- and went shooting backwards out over the ocean. Eve yelped. "_Hit the brakes!_" There was a squeal from the engine, but it kept moving- and now it was curving sharply in such a manner that it might hit the cliffs. Eve could hear Flame and Fervo shouting at each other. She winced. "_Take your weight off the gas and then hit the brakes!_" The squealing cut off abruptly and the boat slowed to a stop about forty feet out from the beach. Fervo's head popped up over the wall as the waves pushed the watercraft back towards the shore.

"Next time," he yelled, "I'll push and you hit the damn pedals!"

"You know," Anti commented, "You could have just asked me to move the whole thing."

Eve turned to look at the clear kitten. "_What do you mean you could have moved it?!_"

"I mean I could have picked it up and moved it into the water. Would you like a diagram?"

This had to be his idea of a joke. "_Why didn't you?_"

Anti grinned. "You said you'd do it your way."

The only thing that came to mind was one of Flame's words. "_Bastard._"

"That's me!"

Eve was about to try to think of a snappy retort- actually, any kind of comeback at all would have helped- when the boat cruised up to the shore on it's own. Flame was behind the wheel. "What?" The Charmander grinned cheekily, waving. "Just because I'm a fire type doesn't mean I can't handle a boat. I got to reverse a barge out of a busy dock once, so all aboard the SS Shut Up."

Eve lifted herself into the boat, amazed that the controls appeared to be in one piece. Did that mean Flame actually knew how to steer this thing? He had to have been the one steering, Fervo couldn't have suddenly just known what she was doing. Eve blinked at the sight of the Treecko. Her mouth twitched. "_You're all wet._"

Fervo responded to what was meant as a simple, 'innocent' observation with blatant sarcasm. "Oh really? I hadn't noticed, thanks for point that out," He glared at Flame while he spoke. Flame grinned back.

"Annoying green lizard overboard!"

Behind them, Mew shook his head and set to wringing out his tail. "Well, shall we go? I think I'll drive." The kitten jumped into the driver's seat, and Eve decided this was either going to be very good or very bad.

Come to think of it, that might explain why no one else was getting on. "_What about the others?_" She looked back to the shore. Scyther, Dione, and Anti hadn't made any move towards the boat.

"We're staying here," Anti said cheerfully. "I've got to get the rest of your presents ready." The kitten gave an ominous little laugh, and Eve wondered just what he had planned.

Dione headed over to the trees and flopped down. "I've seen enough of that boat to last me a lifetime. Besides I'd rather just go take a nap."

The clone frowned. This boat was that familiar to him? "_But... Wait, doesn't that make this boat-_"

Mew cut her off quickly. "Yes, it belonged to Jianna. That's why we're stealing it, using up all the petrol so I can blow it up later without causing a small oil spill."

Eve nodded and settled into the back seat as Mew started the boat moving again. For a few minutes she just sat and felt the wind, but then she noticed the toolbox still open and wondered if she could identify a few of the items. Leaning over, she poked around a bit, recognizing most of the objects she found- except for a few really scary looking ones that she decided she'd really rather not know the uses for. She was just pulling open a drawer when Blacky hoped back to see what she was doing. "What's that?"

"_What's what?_" The kit was staring at the box, but she couldn't tell just what had caught his eye. The kit reached forward, digging out a piece of red cloth. Eve picked it up. "_It looks like a rag of some sort._" She studied it, looking for any markings, and found none. Grinning, Eve folded it a bit and tied it around her forehead. "_How do I look?_"

The kit's tail wagged. "Cool!"

Eve chuckled to herself. Everything was cool to the little kit. The boat started to slow then, and she looked up as Mew nodded. "Well, here we are," he said.

"Where is 'here' exactly?"

Mew shrugged nonchalantly. "Who knows? I didn't bring a map. I just have a feeling that this is where we were meant to go."

"_A feeling? You mean the boat ride wasn't part of the present?_"

"It was," Mew defended himself. "I could have just flown here. You know, you could use that cloth as a hair band, stop it getting as tangled and messy." Eve just shrugged, tying a strip of orange cloth around Blacky's neck like a bandana. The Umbreon actually preened a moment before jumping to look at his reflection in the water. Mew hovered over the waves and formed one of his pink bubbles. "Cannonball!"

Fervo scowled as the tiny psychic dove into the ocean. "Showoff."

"_What is he doing?_" Eve peered over the edge, only to be startled practically off the boat as Mew answered from behind her.

"Getting a little trinket from that robot I blew up," the kitten said with a nod, oblivious to the way he'd scared her out of her wits. He was holding a gleaming black rock in his hands. Just looking at it made Eve edgy, but she didn't know why.

Fervo gaped at the item. "A shadowstone?!" The look on his face also indicated that he'd rather get away from it as quickly as possible.

Mew just laughed. "Give the green lizard a prize!" There was a sudden movement as the kitten flicked something out of the water with his tail. Fervo caught it, and Eve recognized the Nido horn. "I found Flame's stabby thing too."

The Charmander flinched. "Please don't call it that."

Eve inched closer, studying the glittering stone. It made her fur stand on end. "_Wait, what's a shadowstone?_"

"An elemental stone, specifically the ghost element. It can absorb almost any energy attack thrown at it, which is why Mewtwo couldn't do any damage at all." So there was such a thing after all, Eve thought. Maybe the man with the gun hadn't been bluffing. Mew nodded curtly as he made his way back onto the boat, muttering. "I'd ground him for being a retard but he doesn't go anywhere so what's the point? I'll think of something later," Flicking water off of his tail, the psychic tossed the shadowstone to Flame as he seated himself back at the controls.

The moment the Charmander caught the stone, he and it were surrounded by a bright purple glow. The light faded, and the Charmander checked himself over with a near-frantic expression. "What just happened?"

"It absorbs psychic energy, including your radiation problem." Mew beamed. "Consider yourself cured." Flame stared down at the stone as the kitten went on. "You'll probably have some of the non-psychic abilities left but most of it will have gone. Now give it to Fervo and then we can head back home." Flame obliged, tossing the stone to the Treecko. Eve frowned to herself. Of course, they would go back home. She would miss them, though. The clone blinked as the Treecko tossed the stone over his shoulder as it's glow faded. There was no way to go but overboard if she wanted to avoid it. She tried to grab it telekinetically, but she didn't think fast enough and the stone smacked her square in the chest. Eve squeaked as the glowing picked up a third time. What in the world was it doing now?

Mew was staring at her when it faded. Eve blinked, trying to get her eyes back to normal- that thing had been bright! "Since when were you zapped with radiation," the kitten demanded. Eve shrugged, trying not to look as freaked out as she felt.

"_I don't know._" It wasn't like she'd been doing anything weird, right? She stared down at the little shard. Oh! "_I used fireballs in the fighting, before you arrived._"

Mew was still staring at her, his head tilted to one side. "Well you weren't pulled through the rift I opened, so it can't have been from that..." The kitten clapped his forepaws suddenly. "Wait, I got it! Flame bled all over you when I was here last time, the radiation would have been in his blood. You could have picked it up from that, which would explain the fire. Probably explains why you seemed a little stronger than before too."

Eve wanted to say something nasty at the implications towards her strength, but the Umbreon piped in first. "Cool! I think..."

Mew flung the stone into the air and virtually flash-vaporized it. Eve hadn't been expecting it and had to use a barrier to keep some of the shards from getting in her eyes. They bounced into the water as the kitten bounded back to the front seat. "Hang on, I'm opening up the throttle on the way back home. Let's see just how fast this speedboat can go!" Eve squealed as the boat turned sharply and shot across the water, kicking up some massive spray as it went. Flame, Fervo, Mew, and even Blacky were small enough that the majority of the water went right over their heads, but Eve took it full force. She ducked down in the back seat, trying to keep herself at least moderately dry. Could Mew even see where they were going? Over the dull roar of the engine she heard Flame ushering Blacky to the front of the boat, but couldn't quite see what they were doing. Eve turned her back to the seat in front of her so the spray would stop hitting her in the face and blinked. They were going fast!

It was actually kinda fun...


	33. Final Farewells

Wow, I've been gone a long time. I guess I owe you an explination, huh? Well, I can pretty much do it in four words. Here goes...

My dad has cancer.

My dad's been sick for a while now, and the disease he had could have easily been caused by something else, which meant tests, tests, and more tests. And then the results came in. It turns out he has a form of blood cancer, and it's really turned my life upside down. I had to go get a job because he's on chemo and disability isn't always that great, and through all the stress I almost lost the will to write. About the only thing that kept me working was my fortunate obligation to Buwaro. I kept pressing forward with it, and seem to have gotten my inner authoress back in the past week or so, so I promise I'll do better now. I'm learning to cope with the idea of my dad being sick and I'm finding time in my schedule to write again. I'm even getting more solid ideas for new stories. Who knew.

Anyway, here's the last chapter of the Anomaly-Tales of Flame crossover, and I have to warn you, it's a long one! Be ready for a long sit and a sore rear after reading this one, folks. But I promise it's worth the wait. Now get ready to laugh and let's go!

* * *

As quickly as they'd gotten out into the water, the return trip wasn't nearly as long. Eve spent the first few minutes clinging for dear life before noticing a strap in the back seat that looked familiar. It took her another moment to identify the strap and corresponding buckle for what they were, and then another minute to actually figure out how to work the seat belt. Next she estimated it must have taken two minutes to actually get it fastened without tangling her tail in it but then she felt a bit safer. Well, except for the fact that she was getting soaked. Eve tried a barrier to hold the water out, and it seemed to work fine. There, that was much better. She went back to watching the water go by.

In a way, she kind of regretted that they were moving so fast. The water was rushing past them, clean and cool, and it seemed like a shame to just let it go by. She would have reached down and tried trailing her hand in it had the spray they were kicking up not already drenched her. Eve sighed to herself, content. It was a strange feeling; she never really had any peace of mind before. She decided she rather liked it.

A sudden shout snapped her out of any feelings of peace she might have had. The boat lurched suddenly, a loud pop sounding from the engine. The craft drifted sideways wildly, and Eve had to duck her head down so she wasn't blinded by the smoke pouring from the small compartment. When she did, she noticed a difference in the coloration under the water. Oh, crap. "_Rocks!_"

The warning was too little, too late. The whole craft shuddered as it skimmed over a huge stone that was barely visible under the water- at least at first. Peering over the side, Eve could just see one end of the stone rising up out of the water. Damn, damn, damn! There was a yell from Fervo as he went skidding along the floor, and then Eve found herself half-strangled by the seatbelt as the little boat twisted sideways and rocketed up over the rock, into the air. She heard glass breaking, she didn't know what from, and then the sudden, jarring halt as the boat landed on the beach. She sat for a moment, gasping for air. Blacky broke the silence first. "That was cool! Let's do it again!"

"Let's not," Fervo moaned as he pulled himself out from under the front seat. There was a sore-looking bruise forming on the side of his head.

"_Agreed,_" Eve managed to choke out as she fought to get the belt off. There was a soft thumping sound as she unclicked the latch, and Eve looked up to find Mewtwo staring down at them disdainfully.

"_Is there a particular reason why you felt it necessary to attempt to run me down?_"

Eve winced as his eyes landed on her; as usual, he somehow expected this to be her fault. "_I wasn't driving!_"

"Oh god!" Eve's head snapped up. It sounded like he was off the side of the boat. "There is glass where no glass is supposed to go!"

Eve could just see Anti's transparent tail if she sat up. Yep, they were both on the ground near the driver's side. "You should have put your seatbelt on."

"I forgot! Damnit, pull it out before I lose my freakin' tail!"

"Okay, okay! Keep your fur on!" There was an amused sigh. "I can't believe you forgot. Eve remembered, even the idiot remembered and you forgot. Great going. Mew, the so called wise ancestor of all Pokémon, nearly gets himself killed by a window because he's too stupid to put on a seatbelt!"

"What would you know?" Mew snapped at him. Ahead of her, Flame was working himself free. Mewtwo turned away from the boat, and she could have sworn he was shaking his head slightly. Eve tried to get up, and realized her tail had somehow caught itself in the strap again. Joy. "You're dead!"

"And you seem to be trying to join me. I'd be flattered but I don't think the afterlife needs another me." Finally Eve managed to free herself of the confounded 'safety measures' and look around. No sooner were her eyes off of what was happening in the boat when there was a hollow thunking sound behind her.

"Ow! What the hell?" If the Treecko hadn't had a lovely bruise forming earlier, he certainly did now.

"Oogy boogey!"

Out of seemingly nowhere, a dripping red mass leapt over the side of the boat. Fervo staggered backwards with a yelp before noticing the exceptionally long tail. "Mew, that is not funny!"

Big blue eyes rolled in a bright red face. The effect was almost surreal. "Roll with the punches, it's Anti's fault. He used too much ketchup. Yeah, I can really fake being injured when dripping with tomato sauce!"

Anti popped up near the broken windshield, sticking his head through the gaping hole in the glass. "The lid fell off!"

Eve wondered vaguely if it was possible to tie a knot in the phantom's tail, maybe hook him and Mew together and make a chain. Sighing, she turned to look back at the beach again. Dione was asleep under a tree. How did he do that? She knew first-hand how much noise they had been making. So including him, everyone was there but one. She frowned. "_What happened to Scyther?_"

"He's off near the cliffs," Anti informed her. "Probably not a good idea to disturb him for a while." Eve nodded, glancing towards Mewtwo. He was ignoring them all. In the boat, Blacky was hopping over to sniff at Mew. The kit's tail wagged as he licked at the ketchup eagerly.

Eve grinned, remembering the morning tail-chomping. "_I think he's getting ready to eat you,_"

Mew apparently remembered as well because he jerked his tail away so fast she could hardly see it. "No he ain't, I'm out of here!" The kitten leapt over the side of the boat, and Eve heard a splashing sound. She shook her head, blinking as a trickle of water ran down her face. Frowning, the clone pulled off her new headband to wring it out. Come to think of it, her hair could probably use the same treatment...

Blacky was ready to dive over the side of the boat. Eve sighed. "_Blacky, don't do that._"

The kit turned to stare up at her, wide-eyed. "Why not?"

"_Well..._" What to say without openly insulting Mew? "_If he's dragging all that ketchup into the water, other, bigger Pokémon might come sniffing around to eat him. You remember the Tentacruel, right?_"

Blacky's eyes widened and he nodded just as Fervo started to rant. "Damnit, I have had it with all the head injuries!" The Treecko grabbed the empty bottle and turned, throwing it as hard as it could. It managed to sail through both the remaining glass of the windshield and Anti's head before narrowly missing Mewtwo. The clone started to turn as Anti shook himself off.

"That was one hell of a throw," The phantom observed, not really realizing just how much of a throw it had been until it was too late. Behind him, the bottle was shaking on the ground. Eve squeaked and grabbed Blacky as it suddenly shot back towards the boat, striking the Treecko square in the forehead. Fervo staggered, tumbling over the side of the boat and landing, judging by the yelp that followed, right on top of Mew. Mewtwo glowered at them.

"_Is there a reason for this idiocy?_"

Blacky wriggled in her arms. Eve released her hold on him, and he jumped down over the edge of the boat and onto the beach, tilting his head to one side. "What does idiocy mean?"

Mewtwo scowled slightly as he answered the kit in his usual straightforward manner. "_It is a term to describe the act of being an complete fool._"

The Umbreon didn't look enlightened. "What's a complete fool mean?" Mewtwo stared down at him for a minute before re-defining the phrase.

"We're going to be here all day," Anti noted dryly.

"Cut him some slack," Flame cut in. "He's only just over two months old."

Mewtwo turned and stared at the Charmander. Eve could see the disbelief in his eyes, but she was fairly sure Flame couldn't. "_Then how is it that he can wield so much power? If he was that young then his form would be unable to withstand holding the energy inside of his form and would kill him._" The group lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. Eve couldn't think of anything she could say to lighten the mood before Anti cleared his throat.

"I know that one. I've sorta got the same problem. I'm made of pure energy now. You remember me absorbing that shadow ball's energy and using it to make myself solid enough to rip that Ariados Tank's leg off?" She remembered. So did everyone else. "Well I can't hold that amount of energy for very long without causing it to discharge pretty violently, usually in the form of a big explosion, but somehow I can hold it for a few minutes when the adrenaline is going. I'm going to say a fairly similar thing happens for Blacky."

"What?" Blacky's eyes were wide. "What are you talking about?"

Mewtwo didn't respond. His focus was on the phantom now. "_Hmph. You still have yet to explain why you turned into that form in the first place. That form should be impossible to exist in. It goes against the laws of physics._"

"There are some things in life the laws of physics don't apply to. You should know that pretty well by now."

Mewtwo made another soft 'harumph' noise with his mind and started talking about things Eve didn't understand as Mew appeared in the bushes behind him. Eve was about to speak to him when he waved, his eyes twinkling mischievously, and began to glow. Eve recognized the transform technique from Saffron, and she easily recognized what he was- after all, the Pokémon he copied was standing right in front of him. Mew grinned at Mewtwo a moment and raised his hand once he confirmed that the clone's back was turned. And then he put his hand on his nose. No, not on it. Eve's eyes widened as Mew pulled the appendage away, grinning. There was a tiny flare of psychic energy and the now-large cat looked skyward. "_Hey, I got that one to reach orbit._" Eve tried her best to stifle a laugh. He was in so much trouble if he got caught!

"_The temporal inconsistencies alone are enough to defy every known law of science,_" the real Mewtwo was insisting even as the carbon copy behind him began to preen. Eve reached a hand up to hide her smile, noting that Anti was determinedly not looking at the transformed Mew as he argued back that there were things in life to believe in outside the fields of science. Blacky looked from clone to phantom and back again, his little face the picture of confusion as he tried to understand what was being said. It only added to the humor of Mew behind them, devotedly grooming his tail. The kitten gave it one last pat before glancing her way and smiling. The expression was eerie on Mewtwo's features, and Eve was suddenly glad the more stoic clone never smiled. Mew held out one hand and she saw the faint light of teleportation as Mew called to him, of all things, her mirror. Eve's eyes widened as he began to fuss over his reflection, and she laughed a little more loudly than she'd intended to. It was all she could do not to collapse in a fit of giggles as the kitten continued his grooming. What was he thinking?

Mewtwo was still clueless, trying vainly to define another difficult term for Blacky even as Anti said something about limiting the books he was allowed to read. Eve tried her best to focus on that instead, sure it would lead to a lovely blow-out of some sort, but Mew got bored more quickly than she'd expected and Anti's comment had only been half-hearted anyway. In a flash the mirror was gone and Mew stood staring at Mewtwo with an expression of such utter mischievousness that Eve found herself holding her breath lest she interrupt what was to happen next. After a moment of staring at his progeny, Mew put his hands on his hips and adopted an expression that Eve knew too well- Mewtwo's lecture face. Hands on his hips, Mew scowled at the clone for a moment before raising one hand and making quick talking motions with it, nodding his head in time. Eve almost lost it when she realized the kitten had managed to synchronize himself with Mewtwo's scolding. His head bobbed suddenly and he almost seemed to be falling asleep before he nudged himself awake with his tail. Mewtwo still suspected nothing.

By this time Eve already thought her sides were going to split from trying to contain her laughter, but Mew certainly never worried about trivialities like that. The kitten stared at Mewtwo a moment longer, bored with the pantomiming, and stuck out his tongue. Fighting back an interesting noise, Eve saw Mewtwo's eyes flicker towards her. She glanced at Blacky, pretending she was only laughing at him, as Mew's eyes suddenly took on new life. The kitten made a move like he was stretching and then began, of all things, to dance in place. For a moment all she could do was stare at the masquerading kitten before clutching her sides in unconcealable mirth. If she watched any more of this, she wouldn't be able to stop herself. Eve squeezed her eyes shut, silently hoping it would be over by the time she opened them again. If it wasn't, she might really end up calling attention to the fact that-

"_What are you doing?_" Eve's eyes snapped open again. Mewtwo had caught the kitten in the act and was glaring at him with such disdain that she was surprised the 'kitten' didn't shrivel up and die.

Mew mimicked the glare, which was eerie in and of itself_. "Trying to exercise. You need to lose a little weight. It's all gone to your butt._" Mew motioned towards the appendage, and the look of sheer disgust on Mewtwo's face had Eve in stitches all over again. He turned briefly to glare at her, but she couldn't stop. Scowling, Mewtwo turned back to Mew instead.

"_That is not a proper manner of exercise,_" he informed the kitten coldly. "_Especially not for myself._"

"_Well_," Mew said thoughtfully, "_How about a more relaxing method that'd still work off the flab?_" His lower body flared into a bright light, and when it faded, there was a skirt made of grass draped across his waist. "_Hula!_"

That was too much. In reaching to grab her own sides, which were really hurting, Eve lost her balance and tumbled over the side of the boat. She landed half in the water and half on the dirt, right over a nasty piece of stone, in fact, but the laughter kept coming. She sat up, giggling and dazed, just in time to see Mewtwo strike Mew in the face.

The kitten's eyes widened as he tumbled to the ground. The transformation broke, and the kitten was left sitting there with the skirt clinging to his tail. Mew shook himself slightly and looked up to find his clone staring down at him, shadow ball in hand. Eve tried to scramble around and get to her feet to stop the attack, but Mewtwo only flung the black light at the hula skirt. The grass virtually shattered at the violent assault; Mew's skirt was no more. Mewtwo glared at the kitten once more, and then turned and walked away.

Mew pulled himself up off of the ground, grinning cheekily. "See what I mean? He can't even throw a punch right, didn't follow it through or anything." The kitten waved cheerfully. "How about we all get something proper to eat?"

"Yay!" Blacky's tail started to wave like mad. "Breakfast!"

"It's closer to lunchtime now," Fervo pointed out, hoisting himself back onto the boat. "So I guess it's brunch. I like brunch." The Treecko nodded. "You lot go get started, I need to get a little something first."

"Oh, can I help?!" The Umbreon seemed happy to bounce from place to place to place in the conversation. Fervo shrugged.

"Sure thing, kiddo. You guys get going!"

Flame was already making his way into the trees. "Don't need to tell me twice!" He paused to look up at Mew.

"Head back to the caves, I'll go pick it up." What, what, what was it? Eve had to fight the urge to start whining, which became very hard to do when the kitten looked straight at her before heading off.

They made their way back to the caves in what must have been record time. Mewtwo was nowhere to be seen, and Eve wondered if he was still on the island or not. Somehow, it didn't feel like he was.

Scyther, on the other hand, was very much present. The insect was just standing in front of the caves, looking down into the darkness. At first it seemed the insect hadn't heard them coming. Then he turned. "Is everyone going to stand there, staring at Scyther, all day?" The bug spared them only a glance before heading down the stairs.

Eve blinked. "_What's up with him?_"

Ahead of her, the Absol sighed. "Long story, one which I shouldn't tell you without his permission," He hesitated at the steps only a moment before going forward. "It is not something you want to hear on an empty stomach anyway."

"_Oh... Okay._" Eve frowned lightly to herself as she headed down the stairs, stopping before she lost view of the surface. The Charmander was still standing motionless up top. "_Flame! You coming?_"

"No, I thought I'd stand up here all day!" Flame rolled his eyes. "Why? You worried about me, Eve?"

Eve raised one eyebrow. Someone was snippy. It didn't seem deliberate, so she shrugged it off. "_Worried you'd burn the forest down._"

"I've only started a forest fire once, thank you." Flame headed past her, leaving her to wonder just how that one had happened. Everyone had gathered in her room again, taking seats as they waited for Mew. Eve plopped down on the remains of her downy comforter, next to Flame- the Absol was taking up most of the bundled quilt. She only had a moment to wonder what was keeping Fervo and Blacky when Mew appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the room, deftly carrying a stack of thin boxes that came up bigger than he was on the tip of his tail. She had to wonder how he did it.

"The pizza has arrived," the kitten said with some pride. "They only had cheese, though." Eve blinked a moment. Pizza was... pizza was... Oh! She knew what pizza was! Pizza was good!

Dione's upper body shifted as he looked at the kitten. "Only cheese? Surely they had something else."

Mew shrugged and made a vague motion towards Flame. "There was a cheese and Cheri one but I know what hothead here is like with those berries." Eve was ready to protest that she liked Cheris, too, when Flame cut her off.

"Shut up, stop insulting me and give me the damn food already!"

"I'll stop insulting you when you stop swearing in front of my sister," Mew scolded. It didn't stop him from sliding a box Flame's way, though. Eve waited anxiously for her turn to come. It was all she could do not to pounce on the boxes, they smelled so good! When she finally got her box, she remembered something else about pizza. Pizza was junk food, not only because it wasn't entirely healthy but because it made such a mess! She had to struggle to keep the sticky cheese and sauce out of her white fur, which was extremely difficult from the very first bite. The stuff was hot! Eve had to blow on the sticky slice before she managed to chew it without scalding her tongue, and settled in to enjoy the treat. Mew was definitely making up for being gone.

Maybe it was the advantage of where she was sitting, or maybe Eve just knew when something was amuck in her own room, because she saw the movement before the attack even began. The motion outside her door caught her attention just in time for her to see the screwdriver arching through the air- straight at Mew. The tiny psychic was so engrossed in his conversation with Anti that he didn't even notice the projectile until it was too late. The kitten fell off the shelf, dazed. Eve fought back laughter, but couldn't resist just a small jab. "_That looked like it hurt._"

"It did," Mew said with a soft growl. "But not as much as what I'm going to do to the idiot that threw it!" The kitten glared at the door before shoving himself back to his feet. Behind him, Anti grinned.

"Aww, you look so adorable when you're angry," the phantom cooed. Eve gagged lightly, and then flat out turned away when the ghost actually made an attempt at eating. That was just too weird, and besides, watching Mew was proving to be more fun. The kitten made his way to the door and was in the midst of peeking into the hallway when Eve saw a flash of dull silver. There was an even duller thunking noise and Mew was on the ground again.

"And that's revenge for hitting me with a wrench!" The Treecko proclaimed proudly. Flame sighed at her feet as Fervo shouted suddenly. "Fore!" Mew came tumbling back into the room, not at all by his own will, and Fervo swaggered in with a massive wrench in hand. "Alright, hand over the food and maybe no one'll get hurt!"

The fashion statement was just too dumb. The Treecko had found a tag of red cloth slightly smaller than her own and had tied it around his head, obscuring one eye. If she thought back really, really hard, she could kind of remember a book about that had had a man with a similar eye patch. Well, similar in that it covered one eye. Eve cringed. "_You look like an idiot._"

"And you look like a ninja-wannabe, so shut it. Ye all be dirty landlubbers." The Treecko turned as Blacky padded in. "Ain't that right, first mate?" Eve stared at him blankly, trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean in the first place. Did _Fervo_ even understand what Fervo was saying?

"Rawr!" The Umbreon grinned, glad to be in on the fun. Eve glanced down at Flame, and then over at Anti and Dione, to see if they were all finding this as entertaining as she was. They seemed to be, Anti starting to laugh first and the rest- including her- quickly joining in. Fervo stared at the kit a moment before clearing his throat.

"Uh, Blacky? Pirates do not say rawr." Blacky looked eagerly over at Fervo. "It's 'arrr.'"

And there was the trademark Blacky I-do-not-know-what-you're-saying stare. "Aww?"

Fervo shook his head emphatically. "No, arrr."

"I think aww is more appropriate right now, you two are so adorable," Anti was positively gushing, enough so to cause Fervo to turn colors slightly.

"That's it! I'm outta here!" Fervo turned his back on food and friends, the wrench slung over his shoulder, and headed towards the door. He reminded Eve of a sulky child, mad that no one wanted to play his game. She almost said so. It would make fitting payback for the pony comment he'd made that morning. But before she could say anything, Mew shoved himself to his feet and bolted off after the Treecko.

The kitten was only gone for a moment before he came shooting back into the room, red in the face and very agitated. "He just... did... that is not fair!" The tiny psychic wailed and ducked his head under the blanket Eve was sitting on. Fervo poked his head back into the room with a wicked cackle.

"Mew's a pretty good kisser if you get the jump on him." The kitten's whole body shook, and quite frankly, so did Eve. Oh, ew, ew, ew! The Treecko looked up at her speculatively. "Hey Scyther, you think you can see if it works on Eve too? I'm a little short."

Eve bit back a yelp as she turned to face the insect. It was the break Fervo needed to disappear once more. "_Don't you even dare!_"

"Wouldn't dream of it," the bug said nonchalantly. He wasn't even bothered.

"Thunderbolt!"

Everyone turned just as Fervo came shooting back into the room, propelled by electricity. Dione sauntered in, looking smugly satisfied, as the unconscious lizard twitched slightly. Eve stared at Fervo, and then at the Absol. That move would be really, really handy to have. "_You really need to tell me how you do that_, _and that massive Ice Beam._"

The Absol shrugged his forward shoulders as he sat down. "Lots of practice with those techniques, they're good at taking down targets alive. Most of my other abilities are used as killing weapons so I am a little wary of using those, and teaching them to anyone else. Especially you." He looked her straight in the eye. "In my line of work, trust needs to be earned."

The clone blinked. Of course. He wouldn't trust her, would he? But it gave her a chance to ask him about something that had been bothering her. "_Line of work? You were Jianna's Pokémon, weren't you? Yet you kept helping us. Whose side are you on?_"

"I don't believe in that crap. A trainer is the same as an employer. You show up, do the job, then leave. I learnt a lot of techniques that Absol normally wouldn't like that. Jianna would be my sixteenth trainer, one whom I'd been planning to leave for a while anyway. This mission just gave me the ideal chance, they'll think I'm dead. The fact that my Pokeball was destroyed when you bounced her on water means that I'm technically free again anyway, even if she does survive the multiple fractures of the ribs that you gave her."

There was no longer any edge to the Absol's voice. Dione was being straightforward and honest. Eve wanted to cringe. If she thought the memory of what she had done was harsh, it was nothing compared to the stunned way Mew and Anti were staring at her. She looked away from the gaping kittens. None of this was making any sense to her, and it was all making her chest hurt to boot. "_So why is it that you hate me?_"

The bladed dark-type continued in the same straightforward tone. "Two reasons. One, I ended up being injured as well as Esteria when you broke out of the holding base in Johto. Being stuck in the same room as her for a week is enough to drive anyone crazy." That made a lot of sense, Eve thought wryly. "Then when my Pokeball was broken, I materialized about two meters underwater and disoriented. I nearly passed out before I managed to climb on the boat, only to be told to get back in the water, get on this island and help that Espeon out. You'd caused me to be sent in, forced to help Esteria when I wanted to refuse. But orders are orders, so I didn't really have a choice until they started threatening Blacky here. I said it before, helping an attack on an innocent kit is one of the few things that I won't do." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Now that I'm officially unemployed, I've not really got anything against you except for the drowning thing, which didn't seem to be intentional so I guess we were okay on that. And maybe there is a little jealousy involved too."

That caught her off guard. Eve stared at the sleek white Pokémon in something akin to disbelief. "_Jealousy? How can you be jealous of me?_"

Dione's voice dropped a notch. "Out of everyone, you probably came out of Jianna's clutches best off," he said softly. "You got a family and friends. I don't get that, I'm a mercenary. We work alone. Scyther had it worse, four years of hell after being ripped away from his own family-"

"Scyther needs to get some air." Everyone turned as the insect got up abruptly and headed for the door. Eve didn't dare say another word. It was bad enough that she'd pretty much forgotten that anyone else was there, but now she'd asked too many questions and ended up hurting someone in the process. Brilliant...

Next to her, Mew let out a soft sigh and addressed the situation with a slight shake of the head. "Dione, Eve, you two'd better have a word with him and try to calm him down. I can't send him back to Kanto in his state."

Eve blinked, and then frowned. What on earth did Mew want her to go for? "_Why me? Why not Flame?_"

"Because Flame wouldn't be focused on calming Scyther down while there is food about," the tiny psychic said firmly. "Besides, he seems to get on fairly well with you."

"I have to go anyway," Dione said as he turned for the doorway. "I shouldn't have brought that up at all."

So let him go alone and then I can't make it worse, Eve thought to herself. Anti shifted as though he knew what she was thinking. He probably did, she knew. "Kiddo, please just try and calm him down a little. We'll make it up to you, it'll give us enough time to rig up the next part of the present."

They were trying to bribe her. She knew they were trying to bribe her. But having something to look forward to was better than just sitting there being depressed. Eve stood up and nodded to the phantom. "_Fine. Just never call me 'kiddo' again._"

"I don't intend to be around much after this. I have work to do back down in the afterlife, so might as well." Anti's tone was casual as he went on. "Even though you are below a kid when compared to me. In my eyes, you're practically a newborn, so the kiddo thing is typically an overstatement." It took her a second or two to work that one out, but once she had, she was fairly sure she'd just been insulted. Unless Anti was talking age wise, of course. How old were the two kittens, anyway?

Mew's tail twitched, his eyes trained on the Umbreon the entire time. Eve wondered vaguely how the kit had succeeded in getting cheese on his ears. "Shows how much we believe in you."

"Yup. While you're out, ask Scyther to give you a haircut. You look weird with long hair, my Eve had it shoulder length."

She had been headed for the door, but that was enough to make her stop and turn back. "_There was another me?_" Well, of course there must have been, but still, Anti had never actually talked about it, had he? He'd told them of how the events in Lavender had occurred in his home world, but never once had he said anything about her.

But he was now. "Yeah, that you is still alive. As far as I know, anyway. Nice enough girl, if not a little bit rebellious." She could have sworn Mew nodded in agreement. "It was hard to look after you on my own, I'll say that much. That reality's Flame nearly pegged it several times because I was too exhausted to help him out." This time, oddly enough, Flame winced. Eve was really starting to wonder just what had happened to bring Anti into their world. "That's how I got caught by the Rockets the second time... me and him. Well, you can see how that little adventure ended!" The kitten clapped suddenly before waving her out of the room. "Now chop chop, times a wastin'. You've got a bug to cheer up. Go on, shoo!"

Still frowning inwardly, Eve left the chamber and headed up the stairs. Dione was waiting for her at the top. At first glance Scyther wasn't anywhere to be seen, but then the Absol nodded up at the rocks. The insect was sitting at the highest point, looking off towards the horizon. His back was towards the ravaged cliffs, his profile facing them. His expression was enough that Eve almost wanted to flee back into the caves, but Dione nudged at her leg unexpectedly, edging her forward. She gulped slightly, and then jumped up onto the rocks, landing near the insect. "_Scyther?_"

The big insect didn't look over at her, only spoke in a sullen voice. "Yes?"

"_I'm sorry. I was just trying to understand a few things a little better._"

For a moment, she thought she saw what could have been a sad, regretful smile flickering across his face. "And does Miss Eve always question the world around her?"

She frowned, having to think about it for a few seconds. "_I... I guess I do. I have to. I don't just understand things the way they do._" He had to know who she meant, but Scyther still wouldn't look at her. Finally Eve stared down at the stone beneath her feet instead. There was a large, smooth-ish rock sitting there. She kicked it. "_I wasn't born this way. You could say I had a whole other life before this. The things they can know and do naturally are new and foreign to me, so I have to learn everything on my own. How can I do that if I don't ask questions?"_ There was still no reply. Evetwo found herself desperately wanting one. She continued feebly._ "I want to understand the world around me, it's just hard sometimes. I see so many things that just don't make sense, things that just aren't right. I want to understand that. I want to understand why things have to be the way they are. So I ask..._" The clone trailed off, kicking the stone again in her frustration. "_You were stolen from your family, right? So was I. I found another one. Maybe you have, too. So... don't give up just yet..._" The heavy silence was getting to be too much. If Scyther didn't say something now, she didn't think she could stay standing where she was. Maybe she should try going for a swim...

"Do not loose it." Eve's head snapped up. Finally, finally Scyther was looking at her, but it was with a quiet intensity that scared her half out of her wits. "The part of Miss Eve that wants to ask questions. Do not loose that, ever." Eve nodded quickly, unable to think of any other reply. Dione shifted slightly from the ground, and she looked down to see him nodding towards the caves. She nodded again in reply before hurrying off, slowing as she reached the head of the stairs. She didn't want to go back down just yet, but she didn't want to make Mew worry about her either. After all, he was her brother now. She started down the stairs, only to be nearly run over by an excited Umbreon kit with a bright red disk in his mouth. He practically flew up the steps- she only saw his feet hit the ground maybe a grand total of three times. How cute. She headed for her room, still watching behind her. "_Can anyone explain why Blacky just ran past me with a Frisbee?_"

Fervo snorted slightly as Eve came to a stop just short of bumping into Mewtwo. "Maybe because he didn't want to run _into_ you." Eve ignored him, instead choosing to stare briefly at the other clone. When had he gotten back to the island? And how in the hell had he gotten _past_ her into the caves?

Flame piped in, although by this time she was only half listening. "Anti decided to go get some exercise with him. I almost feel sorry for him. That kit'll go on for hours. At least you don't have to play hide-and-seek." The Charmander shrugged almost passively. "How am I supposed to hide when I'm bright orange?"

Across from him, the Treecko was on a roll with the sarcasm. "Hold up a sign that says 'I am not hiding behind this sign.'" he quipped. Eve wondered what was bothering him now. "He'd probably believe it."

Flame wasn't amused. "Firstly; neither me or him can read or write so that wouldn't work." The fire lizard growled as he glared over at Fervo. "Secondly, are you suggesting that he is stupid?"

Fervo seemed to realize he was on thin ice, so to speak. He backed away quickly. "No, not at all! Please don't use that freaky shadow breath stuff on my face, I happen to like having one."

"_I shall be glad when you have left,_" Mewtwo said. There was a weariness in his voice that Eve had never heard before. She could actually see the tiredness in his eyes as he turned and brushed past her. He headed for his own room without another word. Eve frowned slightly before shrugging it off. Even he had to be feeling some of the fatigue of the past couple of days, after all. Even he couldn't be completely numb.

"Gotta love his hospitality." Fervo didn't seem to want to let up on the sarcasm as he reached for some of the pizza. "Wonder exactly how Mew's going to get us home anyway. I almost miss Pika shouting at Squirt for being an idiot."

"_Sounds like fun,_" Eve choked out half-heartedly. Flame and Fervo had so many friends. "_I want to meet them one day._"

"Maybe you will," Flame commented. "I'll just drag them with me the next time Mew opens a rift in time and space." Eve stared at him. He just smiled. "Then you'll wish you'd never said that to me."

She was starting to feel just a little better now, a feeling that only grew when Blacky came rocketing back into the room. His target, as they quickly learned, was Fervo's pizza. The kit snatched a slice and was off running. "Rawr! I'm a pirate!"

Fervo gaped at the Umbreon for a moment before jumping to his feet and tearing after the kit. Eve started laughing hard enough that she had to sag against the doorway. "_Give it up," _she advised weakly as the kit bolted from the room. _"Four legs are faster than two._" Fervo scowled over at her, and Eve's laughter softened to a few weak giggles as she tried to remember just how she knew that. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an explosion from across the island. Eve turned towards the door, frowning. "W_hat's Flame done now?_"

"Uh, I'm right here." Eve squeaked as the Charmander spoke up from her feet. Flame headed for the stairs as Fervo snickered lightly. There was a devious grin on his face, and Eve knew she wasn't going to like what he said before he said it.

"You know," The Treecko said casually, "Your observational skills are really amazing. Yep. We can definitely sleep soundly with you around."

She studied him for a moment before glancing around. Mew had disappeared, probably gone after Mewtwo, so it was just her and the grass type. "_Hey, Fervo? Remember all those hits on the head you took earlier?_"

"Yeah?"

He looked up just as she swung her tail. Fervo yelped as he tumbled across the ground. She hadn't meant for the hit to hurt him that badly, just to scare him, but apparently even just a small strike from the large appendage was enough to do some damage. "_You're not that observant, either._"

"_Flame?_" Eve frowned at the top of the steps. Flame was already up the steps and into the trees; she had barely arrived in time to see a burning tail disappear into the brush. She took off after it, silently wishing he'd take an easier path through the trees. The lowest branches of the trees, stirred up by the winds, seemed determined to grab at her hair. She scowled as she came up behind Flame, attempting weakly to pull free the twigs that had caught her.

"You need scales," the Charmander said through in a strangled voice. "They're a lot easier to keep clean." His tone was tense, distracted. Eve frowned and peered around the last of the trees at the cliffs, trying to see what he was so intent on. The stupid Espeon again! Eve had to fight a growl as Dione shielded Blacky from the disgustingly psychic quadruped. The Espeon was glaring at Dione.

"What the hell do you think you are doing," she hissed at the sleek bladed Pokémon. Blacky was cowering slightly, but Dione held his ground.

"Not letting you take Blacky here, what does it look like?" She would have expected that to sound sarcastic from anyone else, but the Absol's tone was flat. He meant what he said. Esteria looked close to spitting.

"You're supposed to be on our side!"

Dione's mouth curved upwards slightly. "I'm a mercenary. I can change sides whenever I want." He laughed dryly. The Espeon stepped back a bit, and Eve held her breath. It was a stand off, one that could all be over in a moment if either one of them cracked.

Esteria began to whine. "Dione!" There was an inflection in her voice that reminded Eve of a child pleading for a treat, only darker, more sinister. Dione tensed.

"Get out. Now." Eve frowned as Dione's composure shook. Pulling her hands up from her sides, she tried to find the heat she'd felt in the battle earlier. It was there, although not as strong as before. She wasn't sure if she'd even be able to use it...

The damned Espeon was the picture of stubbornness. "I'm not leaving without you or Blacky."

The kit began to whimper softly behind Dione. "I don't want to go..." He shrank down towards the ground, ears drooping, but Dione didn't even look back towards his charge. His gaze remained trained on the Espeon, intense enough that Eve could almost feel it from the trees.

"And I'm leaving in my own time. You want to try and take us by force?" The Absol was smirking again, but his mental victory was short lived. Esteria examined the two males before her, simpering.

"Why use force when other methods work just as easily?"

Eve struggled harder to draw the fire out as Dione's eyes widened, and then narrowed. "Don't you dare!" Esteria just stepped towards him. "Blacky, head for the trees!"

"What?" If she could have picked the kit up telekinetically, Eve would have.

"Do it!" Dione sounded serious, but there was something more to it than that. Eve almost thought she heard an edge of fear in his voice.

"Go ahead, Sweetie," The Espeon crooned towards the kit. "I like a good chase."

The sudden thunderbolt made Eve jump. Esteria hissed sharply as Blacky turned to bolt, glowering at Dione as she jumped backwards to avoid being electrocuted. The psychic's eyes flashed red, a red that Eve wasn't familiar with. For a moment, it seemed like nothing was happening, but then Blacky stopped running. The kit stared back over his shoulder, staring into the Espeon's eyes even as Dione caught his breath. At her feet, Flame was also moving towards the light, and Eve realized almost too late what was happening. The damned Espeon was entrancing them! Eve glanced back downwards. She could at least try to get one of them out of it before it was too late. "_Flame!_" The Charmander's whole body jerked, his stare breaking away. Eve growled to herself, trying to force the burning to come out again. Fire was good. Fire would ruin this stupid bitch just fine.

Esteria was laughing up at Dione, who was watching her with clouded eyes. "Why fight when Attract makes you follow me on your own?" She leaned up, as though to touch her nose to his, and Eve finally felt the flare she was waiting for. She had the fire again. She advanced away from the treeline, Flame right behind her, and glared down at the Espeon.

"_Get off of my island. Now_."

Eve had to have the advantage. She knew she was bigger, she had to be stronger. By all rights, the Espeon should have been afraid! But no, the beast's upper lip curled back in an amused, leering smirk. "What are you going to do if I refuse, foul clone?" Every syllable was a challenge, but none stung more than that one hateful word. "Throw that fireball at me and you'll hit sweet Dione here. You'll kill us both." The Espeon leaned up, nuzzling against the dark type, and Eve started to realize what was going on. Dione was completely enchanted, to the point that if Esteria demanded it, the Absol would attack her instead. Eve lowered her hands, trying to think of some way to get through to him. She glowered over at the Espeon.

"_Don't you dare call me that. My name is Evetwo, not clone!_" The Espeon just raised an eyebrow. Eve lowered her hands. If she held the fire any more, she'd hurt herself.

The Espeon sneered. "Fine, 'Eve.'" Somehow, she had managed to make the name sound even colder than 'clone' had. Eve wanted to try ripping one of her ears off, see if she'd stop then. "I will find out how to make you suffer much, much more than you made my mistress suffer." The psychic's eyes flickered towards Blacky. "Isn't that right, sweetie?"

No. Eve's eyes widened. Anything but that. Anything but Blacky. The kit was staring up at Esteria in wide-eyed wonder. Beside Eve, Flame was caught somewhere between horror and rage. "Blacky, snap out of it!" It was as though Blacky didn't even hear him. His attention was all for Esteria. The Espeon pulled the kit a little closer.

"I warned you," the psychic gloated in that sugary sweet tone. "You could have surrendered and then maybe it would not have came to this. We'll meet again, this time with the Umbreon's power at my command. Ha ha!" The Umbreon just leaned up to nudge her gently. Eve trembled slightly. As much as she wanted to rip into this damn fool creature and take back the Umbreon, she knew it must have been even harder for poor Flame. The Charmander was literally shaking in his anger.

"I will find a way to kill you." The threat in his voice was almost visible in the air around him. "I'll make sure it is slow and messy."

And then Blacky turned, and Eve's breath caught in her throat. Where the kit's eyes had been tinged, slightly off color, she now saw a bleeding red spreading out. Eve chanced a whisper. "_Flame… his eyes._" The Charmander stared as the red spread to overwhelm the whites of Blacky's eyes. The Umbreon's rings started to glow faintly. Flame gave Esteria a warped, toothy sort of smile.

"I take that back, I don't have to kill you after all. You want him, he's all yours."

Blacky lunged then, sinking his jaws into the thick fur at Esteria's neck. Eve choked slightly at the blood, but her stomach didn't turn the way it usually did. On Esteria's part, the shock seemed to release the hold she had on Dione. The dark-type shook slightly, as if to wake himself from a dream as the Espeon staggered away from Blacky.

The kit followed her, the soft glow of his rings intensifying with every step. "Next time, I'll sever your throat," he snarled menacingly, "and then I shall break your ribs as you start to drown in your own blood."

The psychic was ready to panic. "How? How did you free yourself from the Attract? No one should be able to fight it when they've been enchanted completely!" Eve found herself slightly disappointed that the wretched creature could still speak. The realization of what she was thinking sickened her.

The Umbreon tossed his head cockily, displaying a confidence far beyond anything Blacky possessed. "I didn't, Blacky himself is still completely under it. But I'm not Blacky, I'm a whole different part of him. One that you can't brainwash with your fancy tricks. You try anything ever again and even the spell you can hold over him will not stop me ripping you apart."

"I will get you yet, demon!" Esteria wailed as a sudden, blinding light lit the clearing. When it cleared the split-tailed monstrosity was gone. Blacky smirked at the empty space.

"I look forward to it, whore."

Dione got to his feet, still stretching and shaking- although the motions now reminded Eve more of an attempt to rid himself of some contaminant than an attempt to wake up. "She'll be back, though I doubt she'll be willing to try again just so soon."

Eve frowned to herself. "_How did she get away?_ S_he couldn't teleport before._"

"Basic trick," The Absol shrugged. "Use Flash to mess up the vision of anyone watching as a Pokémon that can Teleport just pops in and teleports you back out. If she hadn't been messing with my head, I would have stopped her for you lot. Free of charge too."

"_You're a real saint._" Eve didn't realize she'd actually said anything until it was too late. She winced, but Dione didn't seem bothered.

"Actually I have been called one a few times. I looked after a sickly priest a while back. Nice enough guy, he was one of those people who insist on helping others even though they can barely walk." Eve nodded slightly. It sounded like someone else she had known back then, but she couldn't think of who. "Let him keep his money, it just didn't feel right in taking it. He insisted so I just donated it strait back during the next day," Dione shrugged in one final stretch. "Still, it'd be nice to be a saint. Saint Dione, has a nice ring to it. But a lot of people would disagree with having a dark type as a saint, seeing as we're '_demons_' and all."

Demons. That had been the last thing Esteria had called Blacky. Eve glanced at the kit. He was sitting there, staring into the distance as though his mind wasn't quite there. His consciousness must have been going back to normal now. Beside her, Flame growled.

"If you are even considering thinking of him like that then I will kill you, right here and now."

Eve squeaked. "_I wasn't! I like Blacky! Even when he..._" when he what? When he became the demon? Stupid Esteria, for putting such thoughts in her head! But it wasn't a demon, demons didn't exist. It was something else, right?

"Goes crazy and gores people," Dione finished her sentence for her. "The Rockets actually got part of a recording of what he did to that Tentacruel. The Admin you and Scyther knocked out was impressed. Which was sickening, seeing as it was his Tentacruel. Luckily a 'stray thunderbolt' hit the recorder so the video was lost before any copies could be made."

He had said that too flippantly. Now Eve knew for sure, and turned towards the Absol. "_So you were aiming for the Xatu earlier._"

Dione nodded. "I'd have hit too, if your brethren hadn't been attempting to take my head off."

Eve wanted to protest when motion caught her attention. Blacky sat up straighter all of a sudden, pushing himself off the ground with some difficulty. The little Umbreon stared up at them all as the Absol walked over to him. "What happened?" His voice was back to being that of a child. "I feel all woozy..."

The Absol nodded his head. "Nothing happened," he assured the kit. "We're all okay."

Blacky nodded his little head for a moment, and then his eyes lit up and he bounded for the bushes. "Yay, I found the Frisbee!" He snatched up the toy, his gaze darting about all over the place, before running off into the bushes. Eve could only assume he was trying to find Anti. The abandoned Absol stared after him.

"How can he be so bouncy? I don't recall being that playful when I was that young."

In Eve's mind, the image of a little girl playing tag with her brother played itself over again. "_I was, I think..._" Again, she didn't realize she was speaking aloud until it was too late. She cringed slightly as Dione looked up at her with a woeful expression.

"You have no idea how sorry I am about what those scientists did to you." His voice was a lot mellower than it had been before as he looked away. "I would have tried to stop them, had I known about it before the girl died..."

"So would everyone." Eve turned as Mew appeared from the trees. The kitten's pitch was just a little off, and Eve realized she'd switched genders again. The kitten waved her tail in the air, and Eve felt strangely more at ease. She had her sister back now, not another brother to bring back painful memories. Sisters were safer. Except, maybe, when they were grinning like that. "You guys going to hang around here all day? We rigged up present part three."

"_What was part two?_"

"Hula!" Mew twirled halfway in mid-air, bowing low enough that her feet rose above her head slightly. "I'd always wanted to do that." Eve laughed. Knowing Mew, she'd just needed the right audience first. If the chuckles behind her were any indication, she'd found it. "Yeah, in all seriousness, can we get a move on? There's a storm coming and that'll kind of ruin the present." Eve nodded eagerly, headed for the beach. It had sounded like the actual explosion she'd heard earlier had been from there. Mew stared after, and she heard the kitten mutter one word that almost made her stop. "Kits!"

"Better kits then arseholes," Flame piped in. "I'd take her over Mewtwo."

"Aye," Dione added in. "She is less likely to shoot an attack into my face for no reason."

Eve twitched her tail irritably, growling. Did they think she couldn't hear them just because there were a few trees in the way? She wasn't a child, damn it! "_Come on! I wanna see this!_"

"We're coming," Mew's voice drifted after her. "Some of us have short legs!"

The clone rolled her eyes at the half-baked excuse. "_You levitate._"

"And? My legs are still short!"

"But your feet are huge. They're bigger than your torso," Dione pointed out.

"Oh, ha ha, gang up on the girl with the presents." Mew's voice raised as she shouted after Eve. "You don't even know where you are going!"

"_Knowing you, the beach._"

"Okay, maybe you do know..."

Eve headed off to the beach on her own, letting the others tag along behind. When she arrived at the beach, it was to find the boat sitting there with its insides ripped off. She stood and stared as everyone else came up behind her. She heard Mew sigh.

"I thought you said it'd be done by the time I found these guys."

Another part came flying out, joining the junk heap, and Anti's head popped up from inside the engine. He was absolutely covered in grease. Eve didn't even want to know how that worked. "It is done; I'm just removing what's left of the holder of the engine. We're all set if you don't want to wait."

"_Why are we taking the boat apart?_" Eve looked to Mew for guidance, only to stop short as the kitten settled onto a large rock. She stared. That rock didn't belong there. She knew this beach, and it just hadn't been there before.

"We were removing some of the sturdier and sharper parts," Anti made his way over to the boulder, flicking his ear to try to get the oil out. "Now get over here so we can show you why we were tinkering with it."

That had her attention. There was too much boat missing for it to run any more. Mew grinned and rubbed her paws together.

"Okay, show time. Eve, you see that blue rope thing we have stuck to the window frame?"

Eve turned and looked. A bright blue rope snaked its way along. It was... not impressive. "_Yeah, it's a rope. Somehow I expected this present to be more... interesting."_ She shifted a moment, and then her eyes grew wide. When had she crossed her arms like that? She dropped them, hoping no one would notice. Damn Mewtwo and his stupid contagious habits...

"We're not done yet," Mew countered. "I want you to blast it with a fire ball. Just set the end of it on fire. Then you'll see how this is cool."

Eve nodded, working to pull the fire out again. She could feel the burning if she tried, it was just a matter of controlling it. She studied the rope for a moment before shooting at it, dismayed to find that without the radiation the fireballs were smaller than they had been. The flames shot towards the rope, but ultimately missed and knocked out a few pieces of hanging glass instead. Frowning, Eve tried- and missed- again. Anti stared at her the entire time she tried to line up a third shot. It did little to help her nerves, and that one didn't hit either. Eve growled to herself. Her hands were starting to burn. She needed to do this soon or not at all. As she fired her fourth shot, Flame piped up. "It's tied down and you still can't hit it?! I could do better when I was a kit! The fireball was as big as my head and the recoil practically knocked me out each time!" Eve winced slightly and turned a shot on the Charmander- one that hit him clean in the head. She blinked. So how was it she could hit him but not the rope?

Anti stepped forward with the answer. "Try turning slightly so you're more side on. The way you are now is suited for firing at fairly large targets and with speed, not precision fuse lighting."

"_...Okay."_ That made no earthly sense, but Eve took the advice with a nod anyway. Twitching her tail irritably, she glared across at the unlit rope. "_This had better work. My hands hurt_."

"When we get a chance," Mew offered, "I'll show you how to put up a more precise barrier that'd separate your palm from the heat." Eve nodded again. That would be very nice. Turning slightly, she fired on the blue rope one final time, and to her surprise it erupted into brilliant blue flames. She squeaked softly, staring in awe, when Mew suddenly darted around her and started pushing from the other side. "Duck and cover your ears!" Dione shot past her as Eve crouched low and pressed her hands over her ears, wondering what the whole point was. Mew hooked Flame with her tail, yanking him back, and then there was silence. Eve frowned.

"_Why are we doing this again?_"

Mew opened her mouth to answer just as the explosion rang out. Eve squeaked as Mew through up a barrier around them just in time to offer some protection against the sheer volumes of debris that flooded the air, metal so hot it glowed raining down around them. Above her, Anti jumped up in the air with a wild hoot, a large shard of flaming wood flying right through his middle. Eve ducked her head down lower, her eyes wide as she watched the sparks raining down on the barrier. It was like this insane light show, bright and colorful, and it reminded her of something. What was the word... fireworks? She stared upwards, awed, as the shimmering lights thinned down and eventually stopped. The barrier fell away, Mew grinning the whole time. "Well, does that answer your question, Eve?" She nodded quickly as the kitten looked around at the damage. "I think we used a little too much dynamite."

"Are you crazy, Mew?" Anti was cackling madly. "We should have used more! This rock isn't even cracked; it could handle a couple more sticks of force!"

Eve slowly worked her way to a standing position, wondering just what the two were on about now. Her eyes widened even further when she saw what had happened. Where the boat had been, only a smoldering hole in the ground remained. Seawater was slowly filling in over the smoking remains and the whole beach was littered with bits of metal, wood, and a few other materials that couldn't be identified. And that was it. The boat was gone. She turned and stared at Mew. "_I did that?_"

"You and several blocks of mining explosives." Explosives? Oh, wait. That one was self-explanatory. Eve turned back to look at what she had started as Mew preened. "See, don't I come up with the coolest presents? Not many people can say that their sister let them loose with high explosives and then let you blow up something belonging to someone you hated."

Dione was shaking his head slightly as he reached up to paw lightly at one ear "That would explain why you kept Blacky away with the Frisbee. The explosion would have shredded his hearing."

"I could have just given him ear muffs, but he was having so much fun that I didn't have the heart to take the Frisbee off him and tell him to hide behind a rock." The kitten shrugged, and Eve could see his point. Blacky would have wanted to go out and actually see the boat explode; he was too active for hiding behind rocks. "I send him and Scyther back off to the caves to see what crazy stuff that Treecko's been getting into while we've been out."

Trekking back to the caves, Eve couldn't help but smile just a little bit. Blowing up the boat had been pretty fun, even though she hadn't known what to expect until it actually happened. Mew really was pretty good at the whole present gig. She made her way down into the caves with the others and blinked at the sight of her quilt and comforter all bundled up on the floor. She frowned, stepping towards it, and was almost hit by a green blur dropping from the ceiling. The clone staggered backwards. "_Fervo!_"

The Treecko's only reply was to laugh and glance over at Blacky. Eve winced when she realized what the kit was up to. He was chewing on her backpack! With a sigh, she walked over to get it away from him. "_Come on. Give._" Blacky only gave her a look of wide-eyed innocence as he munched on one of the straps. Eve bent down and took hold of the other. "_Please?_" The Umbreon's eyes lit up and he started pulling against her, evidently thinking that they were playing tug of war. Eve tried pulling harder and the kit's forefeet actually left the ground, but he held on with a playful growl. She scowled lightly...

And then accidentally dropped the bag with a yelp as somewhere on the island, something else blew up. Flame and Fervo were both up the steps in a matter of moments, and Eve made quick time after them, expecting danger. She rushed ahead into the clearing and stopped. There was no one there but Mew and Anti. Mew was peeking out at the phantom from behind her tail, and Anti just looked mad. "What the heck was that?!"

Mew blinked wide, innocent eyes and let go of her tail, flicking it in the air with a small shrug. "You had gas?"

Anti scowled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. As short as his arms were, Eve noted, it wasn't very intimidating. "I don't get gas! I'd say you used that last stick of dynamite."

"Okay, you got me," Mew conceded with a sigh. "But no one got hurt, so what's the problem? I didn't blow you up."

Anti stared across at her in disbelief. "I hate you," he proclaimed at last. "I'd kill you but then you'd be in the afterlife as well and that'd suck."

Eve was ready to point out the obvious fact that Anti was technically making these claims against himself when a large, wet drop of water landed right on her nose. She squeaked and ducked back into the opening of the cave as the skies opened up above them, spilling over the first fat drops of the coming rain storm. Behind her, the phantom turned his face skyward and sighed. "I miss the rain." The phantom kitten's voice was low and thoughtful. "I can't feel cold water soaking through my fur anymore... that cool reminder that I'm still existing. The feeling of drops forming on the tips of my ears and tail. I miss it..." Eve felt her throat tighten. Wasn't that just how she felt about the ocean water? Now, more than any other time, she felt like maybe she had a kinship with the phantom as well.

There was a motion from the trees, and Eve looked over in time to see her other 'kin' appear. "The storm will be the best time for us to leave the island," Mewtwo informed them. "It will be next to impossible to track us."

Mew nodded. "I had the same thought," she said as she turned towards the cave entrance. "Eve, better start packing your quilt into that bag of yours. Leave the comforter, it's shredded and I'll just swipe you a new one later."

She winced slightly. Now? So soon? Just when things were getting fun, too! Eve indulged herself with a bit of whining. "_Do we have to go now?_"

"Of course not right now, that'd be stupid." Eve started to relax, but the phantom continued. "The storm will be going for a few hours so you've got enough time to say goodbye to these idiots before we send them home." Even as Anti said the final words, his body started to fade fast, and then was gone.

"I teleported him to Kanto," Mew said by means of explanation. "We'll need him over there to stabilize the portal if we want to get you all home in one go." The tiny psychic turned towards his larger cloned counterpart. "Mewtwo, can you block out the rain. It'd be hard for them to say they hadn't gone far if they are all soaking wet." Mewtwo nodded obligingly, probably just glad for a chance to be rid of their guests, and set up the shield from the weather as everyone stepped into the clearing.

So this was it, Eve thought with a lump in her throat. They had to go now, and there was no telling when or even if she'd ever see them again. Before she could get too worked up over it, however, there was a sniffling noise at her feet. Eve looked down to find little Blacky on the verge of tears. "I don't want to go," the Umbreon whimpered, ears drooping. Eve stared at him for a moment before kneeling down and ruffling the appendages. In the end, even sweet Blacky's more... psychotic side hadn't been that scary. She sighed.

"_You have to go,_" she murmured to the kit, even as she fought back her own tears. "_Your friends will be worried about you._" Blacky regarded her with wide, wet eyes before leaning forward and nuzzling his nose into her stomach, practically sobbing the whole time. Eve hugged him, still petting his ears, until he calmed down. The Umbreon raised his head.

"Maybe we'll get to play next time?" Eve almost smiled at the hopeful note in his voice and nodded.

"_Sure we will,_" she assured him.

"Promise?"

There was something about the childish plea that made her choke up inside. Eve nodded again, remembering how much that sacred word could mean to a child. "_Promise,_" she repeated.

There was a psychic surge behind her, and Eve turned just as Mew began to shine bright pink. Everyone sat silently and watched as the wind picked up, pulling in dirt and bits of debris as it whirled about in the center of the barrier. They watched as the air warped and writhed like a living thing before tearing open, leaving a gaping round portal. Bright sunlight poured through the opening, and Eve could see flowers and trees on the other side. Dione stepped forward first. "Well," he said casually, "May we meet again under better circumstances." He looked back at her once before he made his way through the door to the other land, and then boldly stepped through. The air rippled and undulated once more, but the portal held. He turned back. "Although," the Absol mused, "If we do meet then chances are that trouble won't be that far behind." Eve nodded dimly as he stepped out of sight.

Fervo was gaping at the hole in the clearing. "You cannot expect us to actually go through that thing, right?"

Blacky didn't share the Treecko's fear, pulling away and giving Eve a chance to stand up. He ran over to examine the rift before turning to face them, tail wagging. "Bye, Eve. And Mewtwo, you're a butthead!" Mewtwo's eyes widened slightly as the kit stuck his tongue out and bounded through the portal. Dione nudged him out of harm's way as Flame started forcing Fervo forward. The green lizard kept on resisting.

"You are not getting me through that, it'll kill us!" Fervo flailed his arms and tried to dig his feet into the ground. Across from her, Mew rolled her eyes. Flame grunted.

"Blacky and Dione made it," the Charmander pointed out. Eve doubted the argument would mean anything to Fervo.

It didn't. "They're dark types, psychic crap doesn't hurt them! That could rip the rest of us in two!" Fervo looked ready to dig in his claws when Anti's tail shot through from the other side, roping the squirming reptile.

"I don't have the energy to maintain this for much longer, so cut the crap and let's move it!" The phantom gave a firm yank and nothing Fervo could have done would have kept him on the island. He sailed through the gap in space, landing hard on the other side. Eve sincerely hoped he didn't get sick on whoever was standing closest.

Flame moved to make the jump next, pausing to address her as the others had. "You might as well hold onto the Nido-horn, if you find it. I can't exactly start walking around with it after everyone thought it was vaporized in Lavender." Eve decided then and there that she wouldn't leave the island until it had been found. "But I'm going to want that back someday." Eve couldn't help a small grin as she nodded. That meant they had to meet again. "Oh, and thanks for the chocolate. And being the least psychotic girl I'll ever come across. Shame you're not my type." Eve couldn't even bring herself to nod as Flame crossed over. Her? The least psychotic? She suddenly felt a surge of pity for the Charmander as he looked back one more time. "See you, Eve. And Mewtwo... I'm going to agree with Blacky, you are a butthead."

She wasn't sure how long Flame had been storing the insult, but it couldn't have been longer than Mewtwo had been saving the shadow ball that ricocheted through the rift. Eve laughed as Flame dove out of the way, leaving just one left on their side. Scyther. The big insect paused for a moment before he stepped through. "Lily..."

Eve blinked. "_What?_"

"If you ever come across a young Scyther called Lily," the bladed bug elaborated, "tell her that her father is looking for her. I'll find her again, her and Lucrecia."

Eve nodded eagerly, but Mewtwo scoffed lightly. "_The odds of that happening are stacked heavily against you being able to locate a specific Scyther_."

The insect turned faster than she could really be aware of it, one blade-arm sweeping through the air. A bolt of blue light shot across the clearing, seemingly missing Mewtwo's head by a fraction of an inch before it shattered on the barrier behind it. Mewtwo blinked momentarily and Eve saw a clearly stunned expression pass over his face as he raised one hand and touched his cheek. It _had_ hit him, Eve realized with a jolt as Mewtwo wiped away a drop of blood. Scyther stood tall. "The odds of that hitting were even slimmer, so I'd say that my chances are pretty good. Farewell, Miss Eve." He smiled slightly as he stepped through to the other side. Eve almost wanted to clap.

Now they were separated into two groups once more. Eve looked across at the faces in the sunlight and raised a hand to say her own goodbye. She wasn't really sure how she could address them, but as Mewtwo was too shocked by the sight of his own blood to really say anything, she figured she'd better try instead. But before she think of a single word to say there was a short struggle on the other side and Fervo re-appeared at the opening. "Hey Eve, do me a favor!" Eve blinked, staring blankly at the Treecko as a manic grin broke across his face. "Whatever you do, don't breed!"

Don't... what now? Eve's eyes widened as she recalled the definition of the word, and her final greeting became the first thing that came to mind. "_Eeewwwwww!_" He could NOT mean that! Mewtwo snapped out of his stupor and threw another shadow ball at the portal, but it winked out before Eve had even lost her figurative breath. Mew sighed and shook her head, muttering something about idiots. And they were gone.


	34. The Plan at Hand

Well, it's my first chapter after the crossover, and it's... kinda short. But the return to Mewtwo's point of view was refreshing because honestly, he's my favorite character to write from. No, really. He analizes everything, and that makes it fun to write.

Well, it's occured to me that this story is roughly six years old and maybe one or two of you would be interested to hear where it came from, wouldn't you? Okay, so most of you don't care, but I'm telling it anyway.

Here's the thing about me- I was an unwanted child. My grandmother was in the hospital, so her dear oldest child, her daughter, decides to have a one-night fling with her boyfriend's little brother- but it's not as one-night as they expect. Forbidden to abort the child, whose father's family will have nothing to do with it, she tries to raise it but fails miserably, at which point the baby is handed over to her own parents in the hopes that they'll do a better job. The young mother moves out of state, and the little girl enters school the only child without a mommy or a daddy. The school bullies had a field day, but that little girl had too much pride to just be pushed around- so she pushed back. Hard. Needless to say, the establishment didn't seem to like her much, and she was often overlooked in favor of the nice, cheerful children.

Is it any wonder she grew up warped?

Skip to ten, eleven years later. An unpopular fifteen-year-old on a bevy of pills to 'fix' her personality about to be kicked out of her public high school for her behavior when she gets sick and ends up in the hospital. After missing a month of school, the teachers happily inform her parents that she can't possibly catch up on classes she was failing to begin with, so she'll have to be home-schooled from now on. She's lost everything, including what few 'friends' she had. She spends hours just riding her bike in circles around the city, knowing the streets pretty well. And then one day she spots a shop with a whole lot of guys playing cards. Curious, she unwittingly steps into the middle of the local Pokemon league. And they actually welcome her. Guys are always eager for a cute girl to play cards with, and they waste no time offering to make her a deck and asking what her favorite Pokemon is. And with her limited knowledge, she looks up at them and says...

"That thing in the armor in Viridian Gym that kicked Gary Oak's ass."

And so they tell her to watch a movie. She does. And she's hooked.

The concept for Anomaly came soon after. With a handful of cards, a borrowed tape, and an unexpected new friend, I started tinkering with a story. It was just a random idea I had, but the sole other girl gamer, Sea, gave it the thumbs up and suggested I write it down. I sat down and started designing a character, one who could be strong and kind, the kind of soul I wanted to be, and Evetwo was born. Badly. Try as I might, I couldn't get it right. Finally, I pinpointed the problem- she was too weak. I tried again, scrapping my old work and starting fresh. By this time, I'd gotten a chance to see the new Mewtwo Return's movie, so I had a handy excuse- even then I was obsessed with following storylines. Sea told me many times that watching my reactions to the movie was better than the movie itself. Something about when I started cursing Giovanni. I sat and started writing again, and while the character was stronger, I felt no closer to her than I had before. She was too tough this time, to hard to like. I did, however, fall in love with a few of my other characters- the sassy-smart Yota, the gentle Cheryl, the foul-mouthed Kazu, and the ubiquitously bright Reyoko, who underwent a gender-change somewhere along the line to become pink haired Reiko. And I made a villian I could really loathe in Jianna, who's name I couldn't spell for months afterwards, and a foil to her in the true-to-life Sea, the Eevee trainer based on my best friend. The characters were wonderful. But the story was terrible, and there was no point in writing it any more. I gave up.

Yet I could not give up on Evetwo.

I guess I had invested too much of my heart into her, because over the years she just would not leave me alone. I'd read and re-read my old story, wishing I could do her justice. I wrote other stories in that time, honing my skills, and I gained new experiences. I made more friends. I had my heart broken several times. I grew up. And one day, as I sat re-reading my old work, I felt almost like I could hear Eve whispering to me, asking for just one more chance. One more chance to come alive.

So I pulled up Microsoft Word, and I started to work.

I knew I had it from the first chapter. The character that had been to complex to just be a child's crutch now came alive. Now that I'd been hurt- and healed- just a little more myself, I could better get in touch with my character's dual nature. Eve is easily the most complex character I've ever written, because underneath the fighter there's still that little girl who just wants her family. In short, hidden in Eve, I've found myself. She is still the kind of person I want to be- complex, layered, a tough shell around a child's heart. With every chapter I find I grow stronger myself, and the timing could not be better, because right now I need her strength. When I type, I can actually hear her speaking to me, and it comforts me. She's more than just a character. She's an extension of my soul. Evetwo's not just my creation, she's my strength, and in this story lies my heart and soul, my tears, my identity. This is the one piece of work that I can truly say defines who I am. That's what this story means to me.

I hope it means something to all of you, as well.

So let's go!

* * *

"_Evetwo, it is time to go._"

"_Just a minute!_" Eve scowled lightly to herself as she rummaged through the bushes. Mewtwo knew she wanted to find that thing, but he kept bothering her anyway. She shoved a few low branches aside. It had been right about here that she'd seen it last, but the rain was making it so hard to look. The clone scowled to herself as she rooted around. She wasn't going to leave this island until she found...

"_Is this what you are looking for?_" Eve's head snapped up as Mewtwo pulled a small object out of the brush- the Nido horn that Flame had told her she could keep. He eyed it disdainfully as she stood up.

"_That's it!_" Eve reached for her prize and Mewtwo dropped the horn into her waiting hand. She grinned to herself as she tied it around her neck by the vine.

"_I presume this means you are ready to go now?_"

"_Yeah, I guess so._" Eve picked up her backpack and looked around her. The island was covered in a rainy haze, but the plants were still lush and green where they weren't damaged. "_Can I stop and say goodbye to Dewgong first?_"

"_It would be best if we just left,_" Mewtwo stated, but behind him Mew clicked her tongue.

"Let her say goodbye, there's no harm in it. Those Seels have stayed on that little island for generations. They won't go telling anyone."

Mewtwo shot Mew a dangerous glare, but the kitten held her ground. Some sort of glance seemed to pass between them and Mewtwo nodded. "_Go, then. We will come and get you when we are done here._" Eve nodded and shot off into the trees before he could change his mind. It only took her a few moments to reach the tiny island where the Seels rested.

There was no one to be found.

Eve frowned, landing on the empty rocks. This area was usually bustling with activity, but now only a dead silence could be heard. Her throat tightened. The Seels hadn't... they hadn't been _captured_, had they? They hadn't...

"Hi there!" The clone was ripped away from any morbid thoughts by the cheerful voice behind her. Her breath caught in her chest as she turned. The little Seel, the one who had taught her to use the ice beam, was sliding up onto the rocks with his usual carefree expression. She stared at him, shaking lightly. He just beamed. "I scared you good, didn't I! You jumped!"

"_Where did you come from?_" Eve's voice shook slightly, and she frowned to herself as she tried to hide the fearful emotions that she had been feeling just moments before. "_Where are all the others?_"

"They are in hiding, little one." From to the side now came the voice of Dewgong. Eve turned to face the wise old seal. "We heard the commotion last night and took to the underwater caves scattered about this island."

"_Then... then you're all okay? No one was caught?_"

Dewgong chuckled. "We've been evading humans for a long time now, child. We're quite adept at slipping away unnoticed and avoiding conflict."

Eve felt the knot in her stomach untying itself. "_I'm glad,_" she said weakly. "_I'm glad you're all okay._"

"Did you come to make ice slides with us again?" The Seel clapped his fore-flippers together in excitement, but Eve shook her head. The pup's face fell. "Why not?"

"_I came to say goodbye,_" she told him gently. The Seel's mouth opened into a tiny 'o' as he stared at her. "_My being here could have gotten you all in trouble when those bad people came after me, and my brother says it's time to go now before they can come after us again. Otherwise you might really be caught._"

"That's not fair," the Seel protested. "You shouldn't have to-"

Dewgong shushed him gently. "This is her matter, not yours. If her brother says she must go, then she must. It's something you'll understand when you're older." The Seel nodded, grimacing slightly. "Now, go tell the others that it will be safe to come out soon."

"Awright..." The pup headed for the water before turning back. "Hey, did our ice help you when you were fighting those bad guys?"

Eve smiled to herself just a little. "_It did,_" she said truthfully. The Seel grinned and waved one flipper before diving down into the water. The clone sighed. "_Everyone is really all right, then?_"

"We're all fine, little one." Dewgong nodded her head. "We escaped in time to avoid the danger. None of the humans were any the wiser."

Eve shifted one foot slightly. "_Then I guess this is goodbye. Thanks for hearing me out... it was good to have someone to talk to._"

"No one can hide what they feel forever, little one. Remember that."

Eve headed back to the island lost in thought over Dewgong's words- enough so that she almost stumbled into the conversation without realizing it was going on. Mew, Mewtwo, and even the supposedly departed Anti seemed to be having a rather serious discussion- she could hear the phantom from on the other side of the rocks. "And we're telling you you'll get killed if you try!"

Frowning, the long-haired cloned ducked down further behind the monolithic stones before she could be seen. She doubted it would do much good; even if Mew didn't sense her, Mewtwo surely would. But if there was any chance of hearing what was going on, she wanted to take it. Anti had sounded angry and more than a little frustrated, as though this was an argument he didn't want to be having. There was a heavy silence and a soft sound like feet shifting in the grass from the other side before Mewtwo actually spoke. "_Then would you say that we should just let Team Rocket continue with their twisted experiments? How many human children do you think died before they created her, Mew? How many will die now if they try again? The odds are astronomically stacked against them actually succeeding with every one. Surely you would be the one here most likely to place some value on that._"

Eve's throat tightened and she heard Mew actually hissing softly. "Don't you dare try turn my beliefs against me, Mewtwo! I'm not going to condone this suicide mission of yours!"

"_I do not care one way or the other whether you condone my actions,_" Mewtwo responded scathingly. "_I am far beyond the point of needing your approval for the things I do. My destiny is in my own hands, not yours._" Something in the way he spat the word 'destiny' made Eve flinch. She could hear more than his usual selfish pride in the words. There was a fierce determination in his voice, one that left her with a chill up her spine. It was the tone of someone who would do anything to accomplish their goals, no holds barred, a true believer in their cause. "_If I have to systematically level every Rocket enterprise on the face of the planet to keep them from making another such as Evetwo and I, then that is what I will do. There can be no more than us two. I will not allow it._"

There was a tired sigh that she recognized by instinct as being the phantom's even as her head was spinning from what she was hearing. "And what about Eve, then? What will you do with her while you're off fulfilling your need for vengeance?"

Mewtwo scoffed lightly. "_If you absolutely insist on my keeping her in spite of my plans,_" and his tone was enough to make her cringe, "_then I will take her with me in my travels and leave her somewhere safe when I have matters to attend to. If she cannot look after herself for a few hours from time to time it is no one's fault but her own._"

"The hell it's not!" Mew practically shrieked the protestation. "Sis is still to young to take care of herself! You know how she gets, she's too curious for her own good!" Eve almost protested, holding back only because it would blow whatever fragile cover she seemed to have. "She's a child, Mewtwo, a child! Hell, she can be hardly more than a baby sometimes! That may not hold any value for you, but you can't go forgetting it, either! As tough as she thinks she is, she cannot be left alone!"

"_Then I will train her until she can be. Perhaps someday she will even be of some assistance to me._"

This time Mew really did shriek. "Over my dead body! You are leaving my little sister out of your stupid plans and ideas! You may be helping me take care of her, but I'll be damned if she turns out anything like you have in the end! I didn't give her into your care so you could ruin her, I did it so she could fix you!"

It only took Mewtwo a second to think of a reply. Eve wondered if he didn't rehearse conversations like these in his head beforehand so he wouldn't be caught without an answer. "_And what, do you suppose, would she have to say to that?_"

"It doesn't matter one way or another," Mew snapped. "You're going to forget this stupid, reckless idea of yours and you'll never say a word about it again and she won't know any better one way or the other!" There was a soft, foreign sound that made Eve strain her ears and then her mind to identify it. It only lasted a moment, but a moment was more than enough for her to realize with a jolt what she was 'hearing' from the other side of the rocks- Mewtwo was actually laughing softly at the kitten. Her eyes widened and she shivered slightly as she hunched down further. If that was how he sounded when he laughed, she'd rather he didn't do it at all!

And then Mewtwo spoke again, so smug she almost wanted to hit him herself. "_It is a little late for that. She has been listening in on our conversation for over a minute now. I am sure that even she can make sense of what she has heard._"

* * *

"_I am sure that even she can make sense of what she has heard._" Even as the words left his mind, Mewtwo heard a choked gasp from the other side of the rocks. It was not the first sound he had heard from that direction, but it was the first that the two kittens on either side of him had detected, distressed as they were. It was one of Mew's weaknesses- once she became emotionally focused on one subject she tended to miss things she might otherwise notice. Mew and Anti both swiveled their heads towards the rocks even as he heard a frantic shuffling from behind them as the female tried to hide her own presence, or at the very least pretend she had only just arrived. Mewtwo allowed himself the slightest quirk of the mouth. There was a sort of dark humor to the whole situation, one that he could readily appreciate even if the others could not. "_It is too late to hide,_" he informed the eavesdropper. "_I knew you were there before you so much as set foot on this island. You cannot pretend you have not heard._"

There was another, softer shuffling sound as the female rose to her feet and stepped out of hiding, staring up at them all with those cursedly wide, innocent red eyes of hers. They flickered up to meet his gaze before looking away again, and Mewtwo knew she was thinking over what she had just heard. If he had played his cards right, so to speak, then she would side with him on this matter. Bringing up the children had been for her benefit, not Mew's, and he was certain that her inability to let others suffer would spur her to accept his cause. "_And what would you say,_" he asked as Mew moved forward to nudge the youth's cheek, foolishly affectionate towards their so-called sibling. "_Would you see Team Rocket create more like us?_" Mew protested, but Evetwo shook her head. "_You have suffered more than any of us. You would not wish that kind of suffering on someone else, would you?_" Again she shook her head, still refusing to meet his eyes. He had to fight back a smug smile. "_Then you should have no problem with stopping them before they can try, should you?_" He had left no room for her to argue, and she knew it. She cast Mew a look of helpless apology as she shook her head one last time.

"No!" Mew wailed. "You can't do this, either of you!"

"_The decision has been made,_" he said coolly as he moved, stepping past the kitten and the female and heading for the caves. Let Mew try to convince Evetwo not to go with him, it would not do any good. As long as the kitten was too busy to watch over the little female personally, there was no other outcome as to what happened next. Mewtwo headed down into the caves feeling somewhat satisfied with his handling of the situation.

He headed to his own room once he had reached the bottom of the steps without stopping to look around. It was a simplistic, almost spartan space. The only real furniture he had were a crude seating area made of stone and the slab he sometimes used for sleeping on. The only actual object in the room aside from the book he had finished last night was a bundle of brown cloth, which he moved to pick up. The coarse fabric unraveled with a soft rustling sound, lightly brushing the floor before he lifted it up and tied it about his neck. The cloak was tattered at the edges, and the only real reason he brought it with him from place to place was because he could not ensure that he would find another one long enough to protect him from the cold during the winter months. Everything else he might obtain, including the books, would be left behind. In short, it was his only possession.

He stopped to look around the chamber for a moment. Usually he would return a den to the state it had been in before he arrived- usually one of non-existence- to help preserve his secrecy. Now, however, such a move would be foolhardy at best. The sheer amount of power it took to build or demolish a habitat usually dispersed in the form of light, and if Team Rocket were to see that light they may catch on to the flight of the clones. Mewtwo frowned to himself. He would have to build his next home in stages; it was the only way to prevent a light discharge. It would not be difficult for him by any means, just inconveniently time consuming. But, he reminded himself, it was the only way to get close to any human cities without being detected. And unfortunately the job at hand would require such action. He turned and left the caves without looking back.

Evetwo was sulking in the rain when he reached the surface. The little female's eyes did not rise to meet his as he stepped into the open. In fact, she was deep enough in thought that he was able to come up behind her unnoticed without even making any effort. Turning the vaguely pinkish horn she had acquired over in her hands, she gazed both at and through the trees as though staring off into some imaginary distance. Even in her sleep she was hardly ever this still, if one could disregard the constant motion of her hands. Over and over she turned the horn, seemingly oblivious to the rain that dripped down her face and shoulders and ran along the length of her abnormally still tail. Mewtwo could not help the slightest of frowns. "_Where has Mew gone?_"

She jumped visibly at the intrusion into her thoughts. There was that indignant squeak of hers, so childish it was almost comical. She stared over at him with wide eyes for a moment before finally answering. "_I don't know where Mew went. To sleep, she said. She could be anywhere._" The corners of the female's mouth twitched as she stared at the length of fabric he wore over his shoulders. "_What is that?_"

"_It is a cloak,_" he answered steadfastly. "_I find it to be handy during the winter months, and on rainy days such as this._"

Her mouth twitched again. "_I thought it was wrong to steal from humans._"

Mewtwo gritted his teeth. Meeting Mew's rather... willful friends had made her even more difficult than she had been before! Had he been prone to physical violence, he would have tried hitting the tiny smirk that was forming right off of her face. But no, physical blows were best saved for when the purpose was to shock someone, such as when he had punched Mew out of that absurd transformation stunt- which meant that instead he had to fight the urge to pin her to a tree. "_This was a special circumstance._"

"_And the books?_"

He eyed her in silence for a moment. It really was just the smallest hint of a smirk, but it was still enough to annoy him. Even more obnoxious was the amused look in her eyes. Even if he could not bring himself to call her his sister, he certainly could not deny her as being a relative of Mew's. He kept his composure. "_The books are the one thing I hold as an exception. Knowledge is valuable, enough so that the ends can justify the means._"

Eve tilted her head slightly. "_Even the fiction?_"

The lilting note in her tone did not go undetected by him, but the genuine curiosity in her eyes made him wonder if she was aware of it herself as she proceeded to make a pale attempt at mockery. "_Even the fiction,_" he said firmly. "_Anything that can help us to understand the world around us and the minds of the people who strive to dominate it._"

She nodded blankly, unable to think of a proper reply- or maybe just trying to understand what he had just said. At times it could be hard to tell with her. She was caught in some strange balance between the knowledge she had gained since her 'birth' and the memories she possessed from times before that, and he often noted her having to piece together what was being said around her. It seemed that she had gained the ability to recall things from her old life at will, a prospect that did not please him. Always the same expression crossed her features while she was puzzling over something; already he knew it well. Her brow furrowed slightly and she frowned the tiniest of frowns, so small as to be almost imperceptible. She was frowning that way now. She was so transparent that way sometimes, and it annoyed him greatly. What was also annoying, and this was not the first time he had thought of this, was the way she simply stared at him when she did not have anything to say. Even when there were other Pokémon around, it was he that her eyes fell on. Like right now. Mewtwo let his expression darken slightly, and the drenched female blinked twice and seemed to snap out of her stupor. "_When are we leaving, then, and where are we going?_"

He turned towards the north. "_We are headed to the mainland now. I know for certain the location of one of Team Rocket's main bases of operation. I shall start my work there._"

He could practically hear her thinking without even trying, her confusion and curiosity were so palpable. Even now, she did not fully understand the scope of his plans. "_And what do we do then?_" He clenched his jaw slightly, gritting his teeth where she could not see.

"_We shall do nothing,_" he informed her, graciously emphatic with the word 'we.' "_You will continue with your training while I see to my own business._"

She was not satisfied with that answer, he could tell. But in what could have been a rare display of maturity on her part, she did not argue, either. There was only a soft shifting behind him as she seemed to finally notice the rain. "_I'm ready,_" she said in a manner akin to a human mumbling. It still irked him how she seemed to do these things with her voice without meaning to. When she was feeling particularly meek or chagrined, she mumbled. When she was sad he could nearly hear the tears in her voice, a trembling whine. When she was angry she managed to yell at a telepathic volume that gave him a headache. And when she was happy, as he had observed her for a few brief moments when Mew's friends were present, her voice grew lighter, more child-like in nature. It was altogether too human of her for his tastes.

In short, she annoyed him.

Mewtwo sighed lightly before nodding his head. "_This way._"


	35. Return of the Psychobabble

Well, after much fan demand, the psychobabble is back. I'm not sure why you guys are so fond of it... it's just the stray thoughts that wind through my mind when I'm stargazing. Or listening to music. Which reminds me, why is it that every song I hear that reminds me of my two main characters ends up being by Linkin Park? I've been listening to Breaking the Habit, Numb, and Faint for Eve's PoV and What I've Done and Somewhere I Belong for Mewtwo an awful lot lately... Anyway, Buwaro named this chapter, not me... blame him...

Okay, Aerie's whine time now. Buwaro's getting a big head because he gets fanart. How come I don't get fanart? Oh, wait. My characters are hard to draw. I should know, I've done it before. Oh, well, I'll make due with my Eve plushie. Still not sure why I made that. It was either from an intense desire to actually have one... or an equally intense desire to bastardize a Mewtwo plushie with markers and felt. Her smirk scares me.

Thank you to all of you who read and reviewed Refractions! The prequel to Anomaly went over huge, and I'm very pleased with the responces. I love you guys... all of you. Even the ones who make mean suggestions that make Eve hide under the desk crying at the trauma. Speaking of which, I think you're all in for a treat as we not only have a guest appearance this chapter from the ToF end, but one very, very requested occurence as far as Mewtwo is concerned. I'm sure you'll all have a good, hearty laugh at his expence. So let's go!

* * *

_We all have our positions in life.Everything is divided into ranks and sects. Sometimes, they are clear to see. In our places of work, there is the management, the sub-management, the staff, the seasonally hired help. In government there are even more levels than these, endless cross-secting ladders of titles and positions. Even in our schools, the students, the teachers, the vice-principal and principal all have those set roles that determine who they are. Most of the time, you can climb the ladders and make your way to the top. Other positions, however, are only dreams for those of us looking up from the ground. We are locked down, forced to admire from below what sits at the top of these ladders with no rungs. So what happens to those brave souls who dare to climb anyway, and enter another world... of legend?_

* * *

How much longer were they going to fly before they stopped?

Eve watched the trees pass by beneath them wearily. The two clones had headed off through the storm, finally breaking free of the clouds just as night fell. The waves below had been choppy, white-capped in their rage at the weather, offering no rest. It had been impossible to stop until they had reached the mainland, and even then Mewtwo seemed determined to press on. They could have landed any time in the last hour, but they just kept going. It was starting to wear her down.

With a sigh, Eve looked up to find Mewtwo stopped again, waiting for her. She scowled lightly and sped up a little, closing the gap that had sprung up between them without her noticing. She hadn't even bothered trying to speak to him this time, instead focusing on organizing the memories in her head as best as she could. This went here, that went there, like a puzzle, on she dearly wanted to solve. If only she knew what the picture was, she thought ruefully. Ahead, Mewtwo was studying her carefully. She slowed down just a little bit. "_What?_"

"_You are getting slower,_" he said in his usual no-nonsense tone. "_I will find somewhere for us to stop soon._"

She nodded vaguely and continued her mid-air trek behind him. Of course it would only matter because she was slowing him down. Eve adjusted the backpack straps on her shoulders, wishing they could just get where they were going and be done with it. She was tired, cold, and hungry. She wanted to stop somewhere and have a bit to eat, and then she wanted to curl up under her quilt and sleep. The barrier she had managed to maintain through the rain had protected the fabric, which she had been unable to fit fully in the bag- not that she hadn't tried. She had struggled to fit all of her things into the backpack for some time before she was forced to admit that it just wasn't all going to go in there. Finally she had opted to string the bright cloth construct through the bottom of the straps and let it trail behind her, a waist-high cape fluttering in the wind. It made the straps slip just a little bit, but at least she got to keep the thing. Maybe she should try tying it around her neck like Mewtwo's cloak...

Up ahead, her cloned brethren was slowing again. Eve looked towards him with hopeful eyes, so close to pleading with him to finally stop but knowing that he'd probably just keep going anyway. Damn it, why did he have to be so unfair all the time? She grunted slightly to herself as he turned back towards her once more. "_This way._" Eve just nodded and let him lead her slightly off the course they had been flying. To her surprise, he took her down to the ground. As much as Eve wanted to cheer, she knew she'd probably better keep her mouth shut. Besides, her whole body wanted to sag into the earth as she landed, but she stubbornly kept her feet. Avoiding an argument seemed like the best idea at the time. She was too _tired_ to fight with him right now. Mewtwo nodded, and finally, she was able to sit down and rest her body. "_We will spend the day here. If we make good time tonight, we will make our next destination well before daybreak tomorrow._"

Eve shuffled her backpack open, pulling out the filched loaf of bread. It was getting hard, but she could still eat it. She tore it in half, ignoring Mewtwo's disapproving glance at the food, and proceeded to further rip it apart with her teeth. It was good! Pale memories of the past could never do justice to tastes and smells and sounds that were real right now. Slowing so she wouldn't choke, Eve wondered if maybe her senses weren't sharper this time around. It made sense, actually. Everything else had been changed. So maybe it wasn't just that her memory was pale. Maybe things were just clearer now. But what did that mean? Did that mean that the very way she was looking at things had been warped, too? Would all of this appear different to her if she were still human?

Suddenly the bread didn't taste so good any more. Eve frowned, putting it back in her bag. She was just tired. Nothing tasted good any more when one was so close to exhaustion they could just close their eyes and sleep sitting up. She'd have some more to eat after she'd slept a bit, and it would taste good again then. Yeah, that sounded right. Sighing softly, Evetwo pulled her quilt off of her bag and curled up, tucking the fabric around her and resting her tail over her nose. A good long nap should have her feeling better... If she could even get to sleep with Mewtwo watching her.

Eve stared across at the other clone. Leaning against a tree, he was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, studying her in the most unnerving manner. She sank further back under the quilt. Mewtwo almost seemed to frown. "_You will make yourself ill if you hide under that during the heat of the day._"

"_It's not that warm here,_" Eve protested softly. Mewtwo's gaze sharpened just a tiny bit.

"_Suit yourself. But do not say I did not warn you._"

She nodded, hoping he would go away, but Mewtwo didn't move. She frowned, not quite wanting to break eye contact with him. Did he have to stand there like that? Eve held still, ruby red eyes locked with amethyst purple, silently willing him to just go away. Mewtwo didn't move. Finally, she sighed. Sitting here in silence was too much. She had to talk! She shifted her head slightly. "_So, what's the plan, anyway?_"

Mewtwo regarded her thoughtfully for a moment before speaking. "_We are going to a city called Viridian. It houses one of Team Rocket's main bases of operations. I plan to destroy this base and gather what information I can about their standings._"

"_How are you going to do that?_"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed slightly. "_That is something you do not need to know,_" he said finally. "_I do not believe you would fully appreciate my methods._"

Her blood chilled. "_You're not going to... you're not going to kill anyone, are you?_"

There was a long silence as Mewtwo regarded her. Eve shrank back under the cold scrutiny of his gaze. He could do it, she was sure of it. He could kill a human easily. But after a moment, Mewtwo shook his head. "_The only human I seek to kill is Giovanni. Otherwise I am no better than they. I will spare the lives of those I come across._"

Somewhere deep inside, she knew he was lying. If a human posed a threat, he would kill them. Even so, Eve found that she could finally tear her eyes away from his and rest her head. Sleep didn't take long to come that morning.

* * *

This was going too slowly.

Mewtwo frowned to himself as he checked over his shoulder to be sure the female was following along behind him. It was still too early to take to the air, barely twilight, in fact. Flying meant that they could be spotted, but there was a group of humans that had been approaching too closely, and movement had become imperative. Waking Evetwo had been a chore, but it was a necessary act, and now she trudged behind him without even the dimmest mental veils to hide her annoyance. There was a dull sound as she kicked a rock in a typical show of childish temper. "_Can we please stop? I'm hungry._"

"_You are fully capable of eating while we walk._" Mewtwo stared skyward a moment before closing his eyes. There was a large signature coming from the northwest, a conglomeration of human minds that could only be Viridian. It was half a night away if they kept walking, a few hours if they flew. He adjusted their course slightly. If they took to flying after darkness had fallen completely, they would make their destination in approximately four hours, less if Evetwo actually moved quickly for a change. But he would not count on it.

"_I have to set down my backpack to get the food out of it, though, and that means I have to stop._" There was a tracery of whining in her voice now. It seemed that he could push her past the need to sleep and she would remain silent, but she was still stubbornly adamant about her hunger. Mewtwo gritted his teeth.

"_You are telekinetic. Use that to open your bag._" He marched forward, resolutely ignoring her persistent protestations, until a sudden tickle on his consciousness drew him to stop. The sensation was not the same as the one that drew his attention when Mew was nearby, but it did remind him somewhat of his progenitor's phantom counterpart- unnatural and almost eerie. He glanced backwards. Evetwo was staring at him again.

"_Can I open my backpack now?_"

Sometimes the absolute deadness of the female's psychic senses amazed him, really it did. He shook his head sharply. "_Something is coming this way. Be quiet._"

She was not quiet. "_Can I at least get food?_" He clenched his teeth again, the only show of annoyance he would allow himself. Of course she would remain oblivious to their surroundings. She had no instinct to speak of save the ones natural to humans, and as such would never notice the small wisp of a presence he had felt. He could accept that if only she would just remain silent, but no, she could not heed his words. Behind him, there was the sound of the backpack unzipping as she rooted around for something to eat. "_I'm getting food. You stand there and do whatever._"

"_Evetwo,_" he whispered angrily as he turned and tried to find the hollow presence again, "_Be silent._"

She raised her eyes. "_What for? It's not like we're actually talking. No one can hear us if we don't want them to._"

"_You do not know that._" Mewtwo narrowed his eyes slightly, but the little female was not intimidated. She just rooted through her backpack some more, drowning out any noises that would have alerted him to another presence.

"_You know, you're pretty paranoid. There's nothing out there._" Was there nothing short of suppressing her powers that would silence her? Mewtwo turned back to stare at her. If only she had inherited the same instincts he had, mayhap she would be a little more aware. But no, the little female's thought processes were purely human, and she reacted as one of them would.

Actually, that gave him an idea...

He did it as she raised her head to ask him some inane question or another. Seizing the female by the shoulder, he spun her about and pulled her against his chest, clamping one hand tight over her mouth while the other arm wrapped around her middle, pinning her arms firmly to her sides. Sure enough, Evetwo fell silent after one initial yelp of surprise. Eyes wide, the female struggled against him, but he held her still and hoped the physical shock would be enough. "_Be silent and stop moving. I am trying to listen._"

It seemed to work. Her entire body went still in his arms, her voice finally silent. He tightened his grip and listened, searching for any sign at all of what it was he had sensed. There was nothing there. He frowned slightly. There had been something, he was certain of it, and as there had been no energy fluctuations, as with teleportation, there had to be something there now. Maybe it could hide from her, with her duller senses and all-around lack of awareness, but it could not evade him.

She was starting to struggle again. Mewtwo glanced downwards, wondering vaguely why the little female did not try to call out mentally as she dug a vicious elbow into his side. He tightened his arms, eyes narrowing, as her head lashed to the side. "_Be still,_" he ordered sharply. She twisted her neck enough to glare up at hum, anger and what seemed to be a bit of raw panic radiating from those damned red eyes of hers. Her head jerked again, and he saw what the problem was; in his effort to clamp his hand down over her mouth firmly enough, he had accidentally covered her nose as well. For a moment he was tempted to leave his hand as it was until she passed out and gain the quiet he sought that way, but she was liable to be even more of a hindrance unconscious if they were attacked. He slipped his palm downward a fraction of an inch, until he could hear her inhale sharply, and went back to his silent watching. Nothing happened. The forest remained silent. He clenched his jaw, noting with dismay how common the gesture was becoming. Oh, he had always done it, a silent testament to negative emotion, but it had not become a frequent habit until she had shown up. Forcing the stray thoughts out of his head, he scanned the trees around them once more, searching for any signs of life. Still nothing.

And then Evetwo tried to bite him.

Truth be told, Mewtwo was not sure what was more amusing, the audacity of the attempted attack or the sheer futility of it. The strength of his grip and positioning of his hand made it impossible for her to open her mouth enough to actually harm him. Still, it seemed wise to hold on to her that much tighter. He shifted the arm around her middle just as she tried to lash at his sides with her tail. He scowled and ignored her struggling, focusing once more on scanning the forests around them. For just the briefest of moments when she had been trying to bite him he thought he had felt it again, but now it was gone, as though it sought to taunt him.

In his arms, the female was starting to whimper. He told himself to just ignore it, but even if he closed his ears against the sound he could not deny the moisture on his hand. Damn her! Of all the times for her to start crying! Mewtwo's scowl deepened as he glanced downwards again. Sure enough, tears were seeping out from her now-closed eyes. Something seemed to squeeze in his chest as he released her from his hold. Back on the island, too, her crying had made it hard for him to breathe, like memories of pain long forgotten- and other memories remembered all too well. Why did her tears always bother him this way? Evetwo shoved herself forward, before turning sharply to face him. Her arm arched through the air, and before he could really bring himself to believe that it was happening, she had slapped him. Mewtwo stepped back, stunned by the stinging on his cheek and the hand still raised in the air that had caused it. Her mouth was distorted in a vicious snarl as she glared up at him with tear-shined eyes, her breath coming in ragged, panting gasps.

"_Don't you ever do that to me again!_"

Funny. She almost managed to look intimidating.

* * *

Gasping for air, Eve glared up at her 'brother.' Her own anger was virtually choking her. How dare he? What the hell gave him the right to grab her like that? She lowered her hand, fist clenching. What the hell...

"Oh, come on, now, you can hit harder than that! Here, you're supposed to do it this way!"

The feeling was caught somewhere between an electric shock and the sensation of being plunged into ice water. Maybe some of the rippling sensation was her fur standing on end, maybe not. Either way, the feeling of the phantom ripping through her midsection to punch Mewtwo in the face was not a pleasant one. She staggered back several steps before falling hard on her tail. Mewtwo, for his part, seemed just as stunned as she was as he reeled backwards. Between them, the see-through Pokémon crowed, his fist still clenched in triumph. "And that's how you smack a fuckwit!"

It sounded, and even looked, a little bit like Flame. For one thing, Flame was the only Pokémon she knew with a scar quite like that, a near-glowing streak on the figure's face. But Flame didn't have wings, large, wicked looking things, and he was not see-through! This wasn't Flame at all, then. It was another phantom! The figure grinned as he looked first at Mewtwo and then at Eve. "Man, that was easy. I thought psychics were supposed to be smart!"

That cinched it. "_Flame?_"

The phantom's leathery wings drooped for a moment. "I don't go by that name any more, kid. It's Ryuu now." He grinned. "Hey, nice horn. Funny, it looks so familiar."

There was a sharp crack of energy, and the phantom barely managed to evade the shadow ball that ripped through the dirt where he had been standing seconds before. Mewtwo glowered down at the ghostly Charmander. "_I am growing tired of you apparitions. You do not belong here, especially not around us._"

"It's always the psychics," The spirit muttered before speaking up fully. "It doesn't work, you fucktard, I'm already dead!"

"It works just fine if you cannot absorb the energy."

"That's only if we want to absorb it. We can just let it pass right on through. And telekinesis doesn't work on me either, so you're totally useless!"

"_I could find a way to destroy you if I tried._"

Eve wasn't sure if Mewtwo's words were a threat or a promise, but either way the conversation had to end now. "_Um..._" Neither one looked at her. "_What are you doing here anyway?_"

"Punching him in the face, what's it look like?"

Mewtwo's jaw was twitching as Eve shifted so she wasn't sitting on her tail. "_And you had to do that why?_"

"I dunno. Because he's an ass? Because I'm bored? The bastard died before I could pop him one back home. I figure this is as good a payback as any."

Mewtwo was flexing his hands as though ready to attack again. Eve scrambled mentally for something, anything at all to say. "_So, is that the only reason you came here, or is there something else?_"

The phantom frowned. "There was something else. I seem to have forgotten it. Can't have been too important... no wait, hang on. Someone was trying to kill you. But, yeah, the main reason was punching Mewtwo."

Eve just stared and, surprisingly, it was Mewtwo who broke the silence. "_And what surprise should it be that someone wants us dead? Team Rocket sees us as a threat now. Of course they will try to destroy us._"

Ryuu rolled his eyes. "Oh, it's bad, must be Team Rocket." The phantom snorted. Do you honestly believe that they're the source of all your problems? Boy, you're dumber than I though."

Mewtwo almost seemed to snarl. "_Who else is there, then, who knows of our existence?_"

"Almost all the Legendaries, us phantoms, several Humans, around thirty or so ex-acquaintances of yours. You're not as hidden as you seem to think."

Mewtwo's tail lashed once. "_The humans who know of my existence by my own allowance are harmless, you phantoms are of no threat to me, and my ex-acquaintances, as you put it, would not turn on me. That leaves the Legendaries._"

"Surprisingly intelligent deduction. Maybe there is a brain in there after all."

The larger clone's eyes narrowed, but he just continued on his current train of thought. "_Obviously it is not Mew. He is too caught up in his own childish concepts to ever attempt to harm me, let alone Evetwo. Nor would it be any of the Legendaries of a lesser standing than Mew, because their respect and fear of him would be too great to risk it. That means that the threat would come from a Legendary of Mew's ranking or greater, and there is only one who would try such a thing in the first place. Celebi._"

"You forgot Ho-Oh and Lugia, they out-power Mew. But, then again, they're too busy with their own affairs right now. So, yeah, Celebi. Well, he'll be trying when he gets my claw marks off of his rear end."

This was getting way, way, way too confusing. Eve flailed one arm in the air, trying to catch the attention of the two males. "_Hold it!_" Mewtwo barely glanced at her, but the phantom turned towards her. She gulped a moment. This was going to sound so lame. "_Ah... well, first of all..._" Oh, where to start? She blurted the first question that came to mind. "_What's a Legendary?_"

"A legendary is a Pokémon of great power who only appears before normal mortals in times of great need, where they use said power to save the world and whatnot. In other words, the biggest fucking jerks ever. So, by all rights, Mewtwo counts as one."

Mewtwo almost seemed to snort, and Eve tried to gauge how close he was to attacking the phantom again. "_Most of them would be offended to hear you say that._"

Ryuu grinned, an eerily mischievous spark in his eyes- or maybe that was just the sunlight shining through them. "Articuno agreed with me, you could easily be head-jerk."

"_Years of living in a frozen wasteland have made Articuno eccentric. One cannot take her opinions on their own._"

"True, Moltres didn't seem to appreciate the idea."

Mewtwo actually smirked slightly. "_Moltres is none too fond of me. I believe it has to do with Mew implying that I am far more powerful than he is._"

Eve wasn't sure if it was the sheer rudeness of them having this discussion without her or the intrigue as to what the smirk meant, but she felt compelled to speak up. Mewtwo was showing far too many reactions to not intrigue her. "_Who in the world are you guys talking about?_"

Ryuu looked at her with disbelief evident in his expression. "You mean to tell me he hasn't told you about the Legendaries?" Eve shook her head. "Any of them?" She shook it again, and the phantom turned to stare at Mewtwo. "Bloody hell, are you trying to keep the kid stupid?"

The larger clone shifted his weight, almost appearing offended. "_I saw no reason to fill her mind with petty stories about Pokémon she would be far better off never meeting. The only reason I have ever had anything to with any of them is because of Mew, and I can hardly see him letting Evetwo become a toy in their twisted games._"

Ryuu sighed. "Okay, kid. Here's how it goes. The legendaries have this weird ranking system, they all fit into this predetermined slot. You have the Demi-legendaries at the bottom, they're the least powerful and they only look after a small area and rarely leave it. The three Regis are a good example of Demis. Then you get the Regional ones, that explains itself- they can be of varying power levels, but they reside in one area only. Take Groudon and Kyogre, they never leave that Hoenn place. Then you get the Higher Powers, Mew, Celebi and Jirachi. They essentially look after specific people that have a large impact on those around them, and that in turn keeps the planet safe. Finally you get the Guardians. Lugia, that white thing Mew borrowed the form of back in Sevii, Ho-oh, Rayquaza, Palkia, and Dialga. Guardians of the land, the sea, the heavens above, the endless space and the fabric of time. You don't want to pick a pick a fight with those guys, one could level a city as easy as you can blink. Oh, and there are a few more that don't really fit any categories anyway, but if you come across them it doesn't really matter because it pretty much means you're either dead or about to die anyway."

Eve stared. "And you said Mewtwo fits into this?"

"Somewhere near the top, both in power and big-headedness. One problem is, the only thing stopping him gaining their respect, he doesn't do saving the planet. All he cares about is himself. Himself and a teensy little bit of him cares, slightly, about you. But he isn't going to admit that, ever."

Eve would have commented to the contrary if Mewtwo didn't do more than enough with the murderous glare he gave the phantom. She cringed backwards, silently hoping he wouldn't feel the need to disprove Ryuu's statement with any more than his eyes. Even the ghostly Charmander seemed to be fighting the urge to flinch away- especially when he spoke. "_If you are quite finished warning us,_" the psychic almost growled with a very persuasive lash of his tail, "_Then I suggest you go back to the afterlife where you belong. I am more than capable of dealing with Celebi on my own, for all the ineffectivity of his cowardly methods._"

The phantom shook himself and managed to regain his composure. "Fine," he quipped casually. "Just don't get yourself killed by being an overly-confident git and we're good. Anti and I'd never let you un-live it down anyway."

The spirit turned away, and Eve found herself calling out again. "_Hold on!_" Ryuu turned, looking at her curiously. "_Did... Did you ever meet me, where you come from?_"

There was the trademark toothy grin she knew from Flame. "Briefly. You were very territorial. It was the last time I ever went into the spooky old house in the middle of the creepy, dark forest that all the humans stayed away from because they swore it was haunted."

She blinked. "_Did I have short hair?_"

The grin broadened. "You did after I burned it off!"

And then, as if he had never been there at all, the phantom Charmander was gone.

Eve looked away when he disappeared. She didn't know if she could look at Mewtwo right now. The phantoms taunting words had been meant to enrage him, and now that Ryuu had left that anger could easily come down on her instead. Was he really that powerful? What about Mew, what had the spirit called him? A Higher Power? Eve shivered to herself. Legends, stronger than any others.

No wonder Mewtwo thought she was weak.

The larger clone stood with his back to her now, staring off into the distance. Finally he seemed to nod to himself, the barest inclination of his head, and turned slightly to his right. He glanced over his shoulder at her once; his eyes were icy cold. And then he started walking. Eve scrambled to her feet, scooping up her backpack and the nearly forgotten bread she'd been fishing for. Brushing the food off slightly, she tore a chunk off with her teeth as she followed Mewtwo in silence. She could still feel the horrible way he'd seized hold of her, pinning her against him until she thought she would smother, her voice just gone the entire time. She had known he could hold her psychically, but she'd never even imagined that he could hold her back so completely physically, too. Where had he gotten that strength? Legends... Eve clenched her hand and stared down at it as she swallowed her bread. Well, then, why couldn't she be strong, too? Why couldn't she learn to use her powers the way they could, to reach the same levels they did? She was younger and weaker, but that didn't mean she had to accept it. Eve flexed her hand before clenching it again. So that's what she would do, then. She would get stronger and take control of her powers.

And then Mewtwo would have to respect her!


	36. The Runaway Child

I have been looking forward to this for so long now.

Okay. First of all, we get to see a character or two that have been absent from the main storyline for a while. Honestly, it's more of a transitional thing- Buwaro needs to borrow them before I do a small arc with them. But it's still nice to include some old friends from time to time. Then I have some meaningless drabble I wrote for goddess only knows what reason. I can only guess that my inner fangirl got out of the damn box again. And then... I have a new character. One I've been anticipating for quite some time, simply for how much we all know she's going to annoy Mewtwo. You'll see what I mean when you see her. Heh heh... So let's go!

* * *

_We all have to fight for our beliefs. Somewhere, somehow, something in our lives is going to challenge what we think and feel. There are a multitude of different ways to deal with these challenges over time, from standing up and defending what you believe to quietly undermining the beliefs of others. You can be bold and braizen with your ideals or you can silently rally your own cause, drawing others to you not by force of voice but by the quiet strength of the convictions you show. Or you can choose to just run and see who follows you. Sometimes you might actually stumble on answers you never imagined you'd find in the first place._

* * *

This was unbelievably boring. 

Eve sighed to herself, setting her book down for about the fifth time. When she and Mewtwo had arrived at this place she had been told, simply, "_Stay here._" Honestly, she hadn't minded much. It gave her a chance to eat a bit, and then to rest. She'd picked up her book, but the shadows of the trees made it hard to read by the starlight, and that made it hard to keep interest in the stories. Sighing again, she leaned back against a tree, wondering just what would happen if she did try to get up. Knowing Mewtwo, there was probably some sort of barrier or something to keep her in place...

"_Evetwo._"

The cloned female jumped to the point that she almost landed on her tail before twisting around. When and how had he come up behind her? "_Don't sneak up on me like that!_"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed slightly. "_It is finished. This way._"

Finished? Eve frowned thoughtfully as he turned. Shuffling to her feet, she scooped up her backpack and her book and trudged after him. What was finished? Why didn't he ever tell her anything? Eve lashed her tail in annoyance as they walked, staring down at the ground. Ahead of her, Mewtwo stopped abruptly and looked back. Raising her head, Eve saw that they had arrived at a cliff. The forest spread out below them, and beyond that the glowing lights of a city at night. Eve stepped forward, but Mewtwo shook his head. "_Over here._" He stood by a large bush, and Eve frowned.

"_What-_"

Before she could even finish the question, what she had thought was a bush began to move. Vines unwove from the mass at Mewtwo's psychic prodding, the tangle of greenery pulling back to reveal a great hole in the ground. Turning full towards it, he started down the rough stone steps. "_This way._" Eve gritted her teeth. The longest single sentence he'd spoken to her since the incident that evening had been exactly five words long- are you coming or not? Even when he strung several sentences together, he didn't surpass nine or ten words- the bare minimum he needed to communicate with her. It wasn't the silent treatment, but it was still beginning to annoy her. Scowling, she headed down the steps after him and stopped.

Once her eyes had adjusted to the dim light, Eve realized this was a lot like the cave on the island, with the same rough steps into the main room and the doorways off to the sides. There were only two this time, but the shape was the same and there were the same slots in the walls to let light in between the walls with the darkened hollows. They must have been right on the side of the cliff, Eve decided. She frowned softly to herself as Mewtwo regarded the space around them in silence. It was too similar to the other cave, and that one had been unnatural enough by itself. Eve turned to stare at Mewtwo, realization dawning. "_Do you... build these places?_"

Mewtwo glanced over at her. "_Did you believe they appeared on their own?_" Eve winced slightly, but took slight hope in the fact that he had used eight full words. Maybe he was finally starting to get over his little snit. She looked around her again. So when he'd just left her there in the forest, he had been working on this? Mewtwo was still watching her over his shoulder. "_Your chamber is there. Kindly stay out of my way._"

Okay, maybe the snit was still in full swing. Why was he in such a foul mood with her? It was the phantom who had been giving him such a hard time, except for when... Eve groaned. She'd hit him, hadn't she? Somehow, in all the confusion, she had forgotten that little detail. It wasn't like she'd actually thought about doing it, it had been more of a really bad reaction on her part. Sighing to herself, Eve headed towards the indicated doorway and into her new room.

It was roughly the same size as the last chamber had been, but there were a few differences she noticed right away. In the previous room there had been one wide ledge across the back wall, but this time the ledge ran along the length of the inner cliffside, higher and narrower than it had been before. In fact, Eve noted, it came up practically to her chest. There was a pale silvery-blue glow from above the ledge that indicated where the holes in the rock face were, and she studied them for a moment, taking in the light, before turning her attention to the wall across from them. There was another shelf towards the center of the rocky expanse, lower and far larger than the one beneath the light slits. Eve stared at it in disbelief. He couldn't possibly have... But throwing her quilt over the ledge confirmed it- it was just the right size for her to make up a new bed. For a second she considered going to thank Mewtwo for the surprisingly considerate gesture, but then she decided it would just be better to do as he asked and stay away for a little while. He probably wouldn't even care for the thanks right now. Still, she thought as she started putting her meager possessions on the narrow shelf, maybe this was a sign that someday he might stop hating her so much after all.

* * *

If there was any one sort of occasion when Eevee feared for her trainer the most, this was it. 

The brown ball of fluff shivered slightly as she stared out the windows of the moving car. The girl's father had called and demanded that she come home and come home now. Feigning irritation at having to come back from a trip that she had already secretly suspended, Sea had finally presented the front of giving in to her father's demands, rolling her eyes even as she sighed into the Pokegear like a girl genuinely disappointed. And then he had made things difficult by insisting on sending guards to meet her at the train station. Sea had whined at this as well, putting up the argument that he was treating her 'like a little kid,' but it hadn't worked. And so they were left with only one choice. They had to ride the magnet train all the way back to Johto, call 'Dad' to let him know that they had "finally arrived at Goldenrod, and poor Espeon is exhausted from hailing the cab drivers here," and then ride the train all the way back to Saffron City. And Sea hated the train rides, Eevee knew, because they were dull and the girl could never bring herself to do much more than fidget for the whole ride. Still, seeing her trainer exhibit some signs of still having an inner child had been better than this.

The car itself was not too terribly conspicuous, just a rather large van in a deep shade of cobalt blue. Black probably attracted too much attention, being the color of choice for criminals in the movies. Sitting on the street, the van could at least outwardly belong to just about anyone. Inside, however, was another story. The ceiling had a DVD player and screen built in, the seats were leather and heated to suit the passengers, and the dashboard had more buttons, knobs, and view screens than a small plane. Sitting in the driver's seat was a man in a simple black suit, looking as disgruntledly dignified as any chauffeur- but Eevee had seen the tiny red 'R' on the man's left cufflink, a sure sign that he worked directly for the renegade trainer's father. And that was what worried her.

The truth of the matter was, for all of her intelligence, Sea was still just a teenager. By Pokémon standards, she was like an adolescent that had finally been allowed to go on it's first hunt- but never unattended. She was at that age where humans seemed to be most prone to giving in to their emotions and whims, and least likely to ever listen to good common sense. That knowledge troubled Eevee deeper than she ever let on, because even most adult humans couldn't straddle the dangerous balancing game she knew the girl was playing. Lies seemed to run in the human teen's family, and Eevee knew that the slightest slip could bring the whole delicate web crashing down. That was what they were there for, Eevee decided. They all had their uses, particularly Espeon, who had been straining herself as of late to ensure the girl's safety. It had been the psychic who had planted it in the head of those two grunts not to report their run-in with the clone or the girl, after all. And then the poor psy Pokémon had been trying to keep track of the run-away experiment, and that, too, was taking its toll. Sometimes Eevee considered evolving to help her friend out. It would be quite easy to do; she just had to get Sea to throw away that everstone she carried around "just in case." Eevee sighed. So many things to watch out for that could hurt her trainer...

"Miss, we're here."

The driver glanced at Sea through the rear-view mirror. The young trainer was sitting with her elbow on the armrest, staring out the window with a vaguely bored expression. She shrugged with an air of vague disinterest, opening her own door and letting herself out. Eevee jumped out after her, leaping from the plush seats up to the young trainer's shoulder. She shut her own door even as the driver protested and stared up at the restaurant. So this was today's meeting place, Eevee thought. It was interesting to her that Sea's father never actually let her set foot on any Team Rocket territory outside of the gym. Sea sighed as she headed for the lobby. "Well, let's see what daddy's angry about today."

* * *

There had to be something better to do than this. Eve stared up at the ceiling, bored out of her wits. What was Mewtwo doing exactly that she had to kindly stay out of the way, anyhow? Eve frowned, sitting up. Well, it couldn't hurt to try to peek, could it? She stared over the doorway. The caves had been completely silent for so long now, after all. Shifting, she got to her feet and peeked into the hallway. There was no sound, only a slight flickering light from beyond his doorway. Eve slipped into the hallway, listening so hard it hurt her head. There was still no sound, not even when she slowly started towards Mewtwo's room. If he knew she was moving, he gave no indication. The slightest hesitation gripped her. This was so, so stupid. He was already angry at her, how could this possibly not make it worse? And yet... she wanted to know... She inched closer towards the doorway and peeked inside. 

The room was about the same size as hers, but the layout was slightly different. Where she had a long shelf for her possessions, he had an actual table and a small stool, she knew not what for. Neither was there the wide ledge she had for a bed. Instead she saw what looked like a narrow shelf along the side of the room, one she couldn't quite see fully. The rough-hewn furnishings were clearly visible in the light of a small fire in one corner of the room, flickering almost merrily in this cool, dry space. Where was Mewtwo? Eve slipped her head further around the doorway and froze. There he was, positioned as though he had been staring deeply into the firelight. She peeked around the corner just a little bit more, and then stepped fully into the room. He made no movement at all, but then, why would he? For the first time since they'd met, his guard was down completely, to the point that he wasn't even aware of her presence any more.

Mewtwo was asleep.

Evetwo tilted her head to one side thoughtfully as she moved over to the small stool and sat down. She'd never seen him sleeping before. Never seen him eat, either. He was stretched across the long stone shelf, his tail trailing down over the edge and his head resting on one thin arm. His face was turned towards the light of the fire, halfway obscured by the rough brown fabric of the cloak under his arm. She had never seen his features so relaxed, the harsh angles of his face and body softened as he slumbered. There was no cold anger in his eyes when they were closed, no shadows of hostile scowls in his expression. In fact, she noted as she leaned slightly closer, his jaw had relaxed to the point that he was actually breathing through his mouth as he slept. She could actually hear his exhalations, the softest, slightest 'shu' as he moved suddenly. The motion scared Eve half out of her wits until she realized that he was only burrowing his face further against the bundled up cloth it rested on. His brow furrowed slightly as though he were caught in a bad dream, and for just a moment she thought he made a tiny noise deep in his throat before the internal disturbance left him and his features relaxed once more.

It was strange. He seemed almost... harmless.

He shifted again, and Eve didn't dare press her luck any further. Rising to her feet, she hurried from the room and back to her own chambers, glancing over her shoulder only once as she went. The way he had looked just now haunted her, because it was as though it were not him at all lying on that cold stone bed. The Mewtwo she had just seen was not the one who ordered her around all the time, the one who was cold and distant and hateful. Asleep, he was as entirely foreign to her as she could ever imagine any one person being from another, a strange being completely unknown in her own little reality. How well did she really know him, though, to begin with? She called him her brother, but she'd never even seen him really drop his guard until now. Eve glanced back at Mewtwo's doorway once before slipping back into her own chamber, grateful to see her own things, her book, her backpack, her quilt. That had been just too strange for her.

She wondered what he had been dreaming about...

Eve sighed, running a hand over her book, and then blinked at sounds from outside the tiny windows. What on earth was that? Eve frowned. Mewtwo was asleep, right? Well then, there was no one to stop her checking, was there?

* * *

"Ugh! I can't stand that man!" 

Eevee flattened her ears to her head sympathetically as Sea punched the buttons on the vending machine. The teen gritted her teeth as the soda plunked out. "I'm not going to Viridian," she said finally. "I'm not going to be cooped up in that blasted gym where I can't get any of my own work done. Hell. Freaking. No. I would way rather head for Celadon and hide out there. Ugh, all this because someone stole one of my shirts..." Eevee nosed at her trainer's ankle, and Sea glanced down finally, idly tossing the can in the air with one hand. "You up for a camping trip, girl?" The brown puff nodded, watching the can bob up and down, flipping occasionally. Was Sea even thinking about what she was doing? "Good. I think we're going walk on this one."

With a satisfied nod, the girl opened the soda, only to yelp as it sprayed all over her shirt and face. Eevee couldn't help laughing. It was little things like this that renewed her hope that her trainer could still be a kid from time to time. Every small mistake like this that Sea made was like a large mistake she didn't make, Eevee told herself repeatedly. Her trainer swore briefly before glancing her way and cracking a wry grin. "I guess I need to do less ranting and more paying attention, huh?" In reply, the Eevee sprang upwards to the girl's soggy shoulder and licked at her cheek, cleaning away the cola for her. The teenager grinned. "So, we go to Celadon like he wants, but we say we'd rather walk there for the exercise. Then we can keep up with what we really need to do. Anything I'm forgetting?" Eevee licked the girl's nose, attacking a determined splash of soda with her tongue. Sea started to laugh. "Come on, Eevee, that tickles!"

"That's the whole point," the powder-puff crowed. She knew the trainer couldn't understand her word for word, but Sea always seemed to get what she was saying somehow, so she didn't feel bad about it. Giggling, the brown Pokémon jumped on top of her trainer's head and down again to her other shoulder, eagerly cleaning her face from that side, too. Sea laughed again and ducked her head away.

"Stop it, Eevee, that much sugar isn't good for you!" Eevee cooed and jumped to the ground, running rings around the girl's ankles in a crazed pantomime of a sugar high. The tiny bit of sugar she'd groomed from Sea's face wasn't nearly enough to make her hyper, but it was always fun to pretend just for a little while. Sea bent down in an attempt to pick her up and Eevee twisted out of the way, darting back and forth with her best 'catch me if you can' expression. Her trainer gave an indignant "Hey!" before giving chase. Eevee bounded around in erratic circles, dancing just outside of the teen's reach. She didn't let the brunette catch her until her mood had lightened. It worked every time.

* * *

Eve scowled as she picked her way down from the mountain. The noises she had heard had definitely been movement, and what sounded like a yelp at one point- a very human yelp. That was what puzzled her- the sun wasn't even up yet. What was a human doing out at this time of night? It had been hard working her way out of the vines at the opening to the den, but she'd finally gotten the hang of it and worked her way out. If Mewtwo caught her, she could always tell him she was just trying to get to know the area. Of course, he'd probably get angry no matter what her excuse was. If he woke up in time to catch her, that is. Eve slipped her way down the hill a little further. 

Somewhere to her left, there was a human cry. Eve's head snapped up, her eyes seeking through the darkness, as a sudden commotion sprang up in the same direction. It sounded like birds, birds and that cry again. The clone hesitated for only a moment before springing off towards the sound. The stars were just bright enough that she could fly through the trees without crashing into anything too badly, although the smaller branches still hurt when they slapped across her face. She heard another scream and pushed through the growth faster, bursting into a large clearing to the sight of dozens of scruffy little birds attacking a small bundle on the ground across the way. The bundle was making soft sounds, like it was crying softly. It was small, too, far too small to be an adult or even a teenager. Eve growled, softly at first, but then louder, loud enough that the birds closest to her started to turn. "_Get away from that child!_"

The response she got was loud. Over a dozen of the birds turned her way screaming, some of them just making noise and others wailing about the intruders on their land. It was a near-deafening cacophony as the tiny birds swarmed in on the new threat. Eve smirked slightly, her arms limp at her sides as she pulled in the power within her. The birds were almost on her when she unleashed the shockwave, ripping through about half of the squawking feathered offenders. "_I said, get away from that child!_"

If Eve had thought the birds were noise before, it was nothing compared to their sheer volume now. The clone winced, resisting the urge to reach up and cover her poor ears as an unearthly screaming started up from the tiny attackers- followed by a screech that would wake the dead. Several screeches, in fact. Eve's eyes widened as several far larger birds erupted from the trees, their wicked beaks glinting in the waning moonlight. "_Ah, cake._" Eve took off running as the birds swooped low over the small human. Holding her hands before her, she tried a shadow ball and then an ice beam, not daring to use fire around the prone child. She had a brief moment to notice the tiny arms trying to protect a head of thick, dark hair before she scooped the human up by the waist. There was a frightened wail as one tiny hand balled into a fist, swinging at her in a blind panic. "_Would you hold still? I'm trying to save you!_" Eve grunted as a sharp beak lashed into her side before having an idea that was just crazy enough to work. Grinning to herself, the psychic threw a barrier around herself and the child. "_You want me?_" The only answer was more squawking. The birds were not happy. "_Then here I come!_"

She kicked off the ground then, running through the feathered forces barrier first. The birds clawed and snapped, trying to breach the psychic bubble, but they were just too small to cut through. Eve was aware of the child shifting in her arms, tiny hands scrambling for purchase on her shoulders. "_Hold still!_" The hands froze just as she slammed one of the larger birds and broke through the crush. Eve shot through the clearing and into the trees, racing back to the slope of the mountain and the safety of the den. She didn't stop until she had reached the cliff where the entrance to her new home was and the birds were left far behind. Only then did she take the time to examine the child.

It was a girl, she saw now that she bothered to look, a smallish girl with masses of brown curly hair. The child was simply dressed in khaki shorts and a green shirt; both were ripped and covered in dirt. A dirty shoulder bag was hanging off of her left arm. The child's bare arms and legs were streaked with dirt and probably blood as well- she was covered in scratches. Eve frowned and set her down. "_Are you okay?_"

The girl nodded and turned to her with wide, dark eyes. Her mouth was opened in a tiny 'o' as she looked Eve up and down, her eyes lingering on the clone's oddly-shaped hands. Eve shifted, suddenly uncomfortable with the child's careful scrutiny. She was going to get into so much trouble for this. Finally the child spoke. "What are you?"

It was hardly the first question she wanted to hear. "_My name is Eve_," she mumbled. "_I'm_-" She was cut short by a soft touch to her face. The child had reached up, balancing on the tips of her toes, and put a hand to her mouth. Eve jerked her head back. "What are you doing?"

"You talk without moving your mouth," the girl exclaimed. "You're psychic then, right?"

"_Yeah_." Eve stared at the girl. "_I am_." The child beamed, and Eve wondered just how aware the girl was of the danger she had just been in. "_So who are you?_"

"My name is Ellie," the girl said brightly. "Elise Maria Krawford, Ellie for short!" The child tried to circle around her. Eve tried to turn with her. "You've got a really big tail!"

"_Um... yeah._" The clone frowned as she lost track of the human. The child was fast, and Eve wasn't quite sure how far around her she'd gone until she felt a pat on her tail.

"You're soft!" Eve fought back a groan. Great, she'd rescued a very curious little monster. "What's that thing?"

"_What's what thing?_"

"That thing under your hair!" Small hands started pulling the locks aside. The proximity alone made Eve's blood tingle; she twisted her upper body and grabbed at an offending wrist. The child squeaked.

"_Would you keep your hands off that, please?_"

"Sorry," the little girl said, circling around to Eve's front to stare at her hands again. "But what was it?"

"_It..._" Eve stopped. She'd already known she had the extra neck, so similar to Mewtwo's, hidden away under her hair. But aside from acknowledging that it was there she'd never really thought about it. What was that thing for? "_It's important, okay? So no touching?_"

"Okay." The child bent over to study her hands more closely. "Whoa." Eve stepped back.

"_Look, can you please stop that? It's creeping me out._"

"Stop what?" Ellie's eyes were wide and innocent.

"_Stop... stop looking at me! It's like you're trying to study me, take measurements or something. I don't like it._"

"Sorry," the girl said again. Eve stared.

"_So, what exactly is a little girl like you doing out here alone, anyway?_"

The girl frowned. "I'm not that little. Well, compared to you I guess I am. But I'm not that short for my age!"

Couldn't this kid answer a single question without the incessant talking on the side? "_Okay, how old are you, then?_"

"I'm ten years old!" Ellie moved as though to circle her again, caught herself, and stopped. "And I'm really not that small. Mama says I'm just petite. That means maybe I'm a little small, but not that much."

Eve swished her tail, immediately catching the child's eyes. "_Still, it's too early for a human child to be this far into the forest alone. Are you a trainer of some sort?_"

Ellie's eyes were still focused on her tail. Eve switched it to the side again, and the human started babbling without ever looking away from the appendage. "Oh, gosh, no! I'd like to be a Pokémon researcher someday, though. Only Grandma won't let me. She says Pokémon are nasty dirty disgusting stupid animals that carry diseases and the only reason my big brother can have one is because it makes him look good because he's still too young to get married. She'd never let me be a trainer. That's why I'm writing my book."

Eve struggled to take in everything the exuberant child had just thrown at her. "_A book..._"

"Yeah!" Ellie nodded her head enthusiastically, sending curls flying everywhere. "I'm going to find all the legendary Pokémon in my story book and I'm going to draw them and write a beautiful book so Grandma will have to see that they're not bad, and then I can get my very own Pokémon partner and become a great researcher!"

Eve gaped as Ellie finally stopped and caught her breath. Something didn't add up. "_So, your grandmother hates Pokémon, but she's willing to let you go out alone and write a book about them?_"

"Oh, gosh, no," Ellie exclaimed, and then with some pride, "I ran away from home!"


	37. Rude Awakenings

I am in awe. It's been barely a week since the last chapter and already I have a new one done. The secret? I've been writing at work. It turns out no one, and I mean NO ONE in the Lowe's garden center cares if I write when there are no customers around! In fact, I've amused several of my co-workers by reading conversations out loud. Of course, none of them have any idea what my story is about, nor can they read my notes- I use blue sharpie on one side of the paper and red on the other, and none of them can read the resulting mess. I love having better eyes than everyone else. Anyway, as long as I stash my papers quick when anyone from the inside of the store comes outside, or when I'm helping customers, I can write all I want! It's great!

Okay. All happy-happy cheering aside, I just want to make note of something that's really been bugging me. Truth be told, I'm rather tired of everyone mentioning how much of an ass Mewtwo is. In my opinion, and that of a few others, I'm doing a better job with the character than 4Kids did because I'm keeping him true to how he originally was. Of course, it's hard to convey that within the story, so I did some searching for something I just knew I had gathering dust on my hard-drive- a translation of the original first movie script. Anyone who thinks Mewtwo is too cold in Anomaly might be interested in this little speech from way the hell back when he was still bent on killing everyone...

_"I thought of working with humans once, but I was disappointed. Humans are the worst creatures, inferior to pokémon. If creatures that are weak and cruel like humans control this world, this planet will come to ruin."_

See? He's not an ass. He's just in character! ... ... ... Okay, so he's still an ass... especially in this chapter. Gave me a headache again, yeesh. Damned argumentative clones...

Just as a note, this will be the last (admittedly short) psychobabble we see for a while. Starting next chapter, I'll be temporarily replacing it with something much more pertinant to the arc... and far more fun!

Anyway, this chapter is heavier on talking than usual, but it's not going to be dull by any means. In fact, parts of it are rather amusing. So let's go!

* * *

_Anyone who's ever taken the time to talk to a child knows that they can be the most inquisitive creatures alive. A child, given the chance, will question anything and everything around them. It's how they learn. Answering a child's questions can be tiring, as one always leads to another leads to another leads to another. Perhaps it is the increasing awareness of this that comes as we grow older that stops us from asking about the world around us any more. It's a shame, really. Questions can be so much fun._

* * *

Sometimes a person can have moments when they just don't know what to say. Their brain just sort of blanks out as though to tell them no, you've already thought too much for one day. Eve was having one of those moments.

The child in front of her was smiling happily, as though what she'd done was the coolest thing ever. Then again, to her it probably was. Eve shook herself. "_So you've run away and you're going to do what now?_"

"I'm going to write a book about all the legends," the girl said earnestly. "I'm going to find them all and learn all I can about them, and then I'll write a book."

"_And how do you plan on learning about them?_" Eve made her way over to a nearby tree to sit down. Sitting sounded good right now. Ellie looked at her with a patient seriousness.

"I'd ask them about themselves, of course. My brother said that the legends are so powerful and wise that they could probably talk to me if they wanted." Ellie's eyes went wide. "Hey, you're talking to me right now! Are you..." Eve shook her head, and the child trailed off with a tiny, disappointed "Oh." Ellie looked at her strangely for a moment before walking over and sitting beside her. "So what are you?"

Eve stared at the child, so innocently wanting to believe. She had been like that once, back then. Ellie watched her eagerly, waiting, and Eve grasped for an answer. "I guess you could say I'm like a secret Pokémon," she said finally. "One you have to promise never to tell anyone about, okay?" The girl nodded, curls bouncing. Eve decided to indulge herself with a little curiosity of her own. "So what do you know about the legends?"

"Oh, I know all sorts of things," the human said with a little nod. "I know about the first lives and how the world was made and the battle of land and sea, and a whole lot of the other stories besides!"

The stories of what now? "That's a lot," Eve mumbled. "Where did you learn them all?"

"I learned them from a book," the little girl bubbled. "Here, I'll show you!" And from her bag she pulled a thick old tome. The large volume reminded Eve of her own book about fairy princesses and wicked witches. Ellie held up the book with pride. "This was my other grandma's. She gave it to me when I was little!"

"_Nice_." Were all ten-year-olds this hyper? Then again, the girl seemed to be a little less excited than she had been before. Eve tapped the end of her tail against the ground, watching as Ellie put the book back in her bag. The rest of the small space looked like it was full of clothing and things. Eve frowned, sniffing the air. Didn't the child even have any food? She couldn't smell anything. Ellie patted the contents of the bag into place before pulling it shut and looking around her. "Um..." The child shifted uncomfortably, but didn't speak again. Eve sighed.

"_Yes?_"

Ellie looked up at her with wide eyes, and Eve realized that the eastern sky had lightened enough for her to see what a deep brown they were. "I'm tired," the human said at last. "Is it okay to sleep here?"

Ah, this was not going to be good. Eve frowned. What could she tell the little girl? No? That was too cruel. Besides, if she was already in trouble... "_Yeah, sure._"

"Will you stay here in case the Spearow's come back?"

The clone sighed. What choice did she have, really, than to stay where she was? She couldn't exactly leave the little girl just sitting there in the middle of the forest, especially not with Mewtwo sleeping down below her. "_Yeah, I'll stay here. You go ahead and get some rest._" Ellie nodded and stretched out in the grass, resting her head on her bag. Eve leaned her head back against the tree, wondering when she was going to get to sleep again herself. Across from her, Ellie tossed about for a few minutes before sitting up and starting at her again. Eve frowned. "_Is something wrong?_"

"The ground is hard," the little girl told her seriously. Eve blinked and slapped her tail against it. The child was right.

"_Well, find something soft to lay on and you should be fine._" Ellie nodded and looked around for a few minutes before staring back at her with wide eyes. Eve stared back, wondering what the problem was this time. She sighed. "_Yes, Ellie?_"

"Your tail looks soft," the human said solemnly. "Can I lie against that?"

Repressing the urge to groan inwardly, Eve shook her head. "_You wouldn't be comfortable and I wouldn't be able to get up,_" she said quickly as the child's face fell. She glanced around. "_The grass over there is thick. If you tamped it down a little it would be fine to lay on._"

The child nodded quietly, heading over to the grassy patch and settling down. Eve sighed to herself as the girl closed her eyes. The clone watched her intently before getting a little more comfortable to think. How the hell was she going to explain this to Mewtwo? Yeah, I heard noises and ended up rescuing a little human and she followed me home, can I keep her? As if. Shifting again, Eve hugged her arms and stared off over the city as the sun rose, watching the sky lightening. Her eyes felt heavy...

She hadn't even been aware of falling asleep until she was jolted awake again. The first thing Eve was aware of was the pressure locking her mind within itself; the next was the pressure locking her against the tree. She scrambled just to move for a moment and her body obliged suddenly, although not in the way she wanted it to. Eve's heart sank as she was lifted off the ground and slammed into the rough bark behind her by a handless grip. The voice rang in her head, louder and clearer and angrier than she had ever heard it before. "_What is the meaning of this?!_"

Her head felt like it was ready to implode as she forced herself to speak. "_Mewtwo...stop... you're hurting me..._"

He paid her no mind. "_What kind of a fool are you? Where did that thing come from?_" His voice was dangerously low and sharp enough that it almost hurt. Eve couldn't stop a slight whimper from escaping her throat as she glanced down. The girl was laying far closer to where she had been moments ago before. When had she moved?

"_I..._" It hurt to speak. Eve squeezed her eyes shut, amazed that she had at least that little control, and tried again. "_I found her... in the forest..._" She tried desperately to break Mewtwo's psychic hold, but he was too strong. Her head hurt! "_She was being attacked by the birds... I couldn't... I couldn't just leave her!_"

She was ripped away from the tree then, her body holding in midair for a moment before he threw her to the side. She landed hard on her shoulder and had to bite back a cry of pain, but at least she could move again. "_You could have and you should have!_" Mewtwo's tail switched from one side to the other. "_There are a thousand things you could have done if you felt you had to, ways you could have fought the birds off without revealing yourself if you had just thought about your actions!_"

"_I didn't have time to think!_" Eve's eyes widened as she managed to almost yell. She forced herself to contain her speech in a whisper. Mewtwo stepped towards her, and she was torn between trying to get to her feet and just pushing herself back on all fours. Mewtwo took another step towards her, his hands flexing as he seemed to be trying to keep from throwing her again. She hoped he was, anyway. She cringed as his tail lashed rather violently...

"Leave her alone!"

Eve's head jerked up at the youthful shout. Brown curls swayed as the human child ran in front of her, her arms held out wide. Mewtwo actually backed up a step, his eyes widening in shock before narrowing again. Eve groaned to herself. This could not be good...

* * *

There had to be a way to handle this situation without loosing his temper any more than he already had.

Mewtwo gritted his teeth, staring first at the human child and then at the female behind her. Evetwo could not work up the courage to get angry, his brutal method of awakening her had seen to that. But the child, innocent and foolish, did not believe that he would hurt her. A costly mistake if he had seen her as more of a threat... He glared down at the tiny human. "_Move aside._" The little girl's eyes widened, but she shook her head defiantly. "_My business at this time is not with you. Move aside._" Again the girl shook her head. Behind her, Eve started to rise.

"_Ellie, step to the side._"

The human child turned her upper body. "But he hurt you!"

The female grunted as she got to her feet. "_I'm fine. Just step aside, okay, Ellie?_" The child seemed to deliberate over it a minute before shuffling back to where she had come from. Eve stood up to her full height, pleading with him with her red eyes. "_Don't do this,_" she whispered, "_not in front of the child. Please..._"

He kept his expression cold. "_Get back inside where you belong, then. The child will wait here._"

"_But-_"

"_Go!_" Her head jerked once and she turned to the girl.

"_Wait here for me, okay? Wait right here and I'll come back up for you soon._" The child nodded quietly and Eve headed for the steps, pausing once. "_If you hurt her, so help me..._" He inclined his head to show her he understood and she disappeared into the den. He then turned back to the child.

"_You will stay exactly where you are. If you try to run, I will have to hunt you down. I will have no choice in the matter._" The human's head bobbed slowly. Mewtwo looked her over once more before heading down the stairs.

Evetwo was waiting for him at the bottom. "_Listen, please, I can explain this._"

"_I certainly hope you can._" He cut a calculated glare at her. He was finally managing to reign in his anger, but it seemed easiest not to let her know that. "_What could you possibly have been thinking to bring a human child here?_"

She shifted uncomfortably. "_Please try to understand, I didn't have a choice. Those birds were going to tear her apart and I didn't know where else to go!_" Her eyes shone in the dim light. Curse her, was she going to cry again? "_Maybe you could have saved her without showing yourself, but I couldn't! I'm not as strong as you are..._"

The admission seemed to hurt her. Mewtwo stepped forward, his eyes never leaving the female's face. "_Why were you outside?_"

"_I heard noises from below the cliffs. I wanted to know what they were._"

Her curiosity would be the death of them! "_Why did you not call for my help?_"

Evetwo's eyes widened before her gaze dropped to the floor suddenly. "_You were asleep,_" she mumbled. Mewtwo felt his anger surge again.

"_You were in my chambers?_" She nodded weakly. "_I told you to stay away from my room!_"

The female's cheeks were flushed in her anxiety. "_You told me to stay out of your way,_" she corrected him quietly. "_And I did. I never bothered you, you never even knew I was there._"

He clenched his jaw. "_Never, ever come into my room when I am sleeping again, do I make myself clear?_" She flinched visibly. "_Do I?_"

"_Yes,_" she murmured. "_You're clear._" She raised her eyes to look at him again, something in her expression almost seeming to shift. He narrowed his own eyes.

"_What exactly are your plans for this human?_"

Evetwo blinked several times in her confusion. "_Plans?_"

"_Yes, plans. It will take time to decide what to do with her; I have to be careful about where she is left when we are this close to Viridian._" And how much of her memory was taken as well, but he did not tell Evetwo that. "_During that time she will be your responsibility. What are your plans?_"

Evetwo stared at him blankly a moment before thinking it over. "_I guess... I guess I'll ask Mew about it, then,_" the female declared finally. Mewtwo stiffened. "_Ellie did say she left home to see the legends._"

She had to be joking. Even she could not possibly be that foolish. He stared down at the little female, trying to make sense of whatever warped thought processes could lead her to believe this was a good idea. "_Are you daft?_"

Evetwo blinked. "_Am I what?_"

"_It means stupid, often used in the context of mental retardation._" She jerked away from him, visibly offended.

"_No, I am not daft! I just thought our brother might be interested in her!_" The female's tail twitched violently, her own anger finally surfacing. "_She's a funny little human._"

He gritted his teeth. "_Fine, then. Do as you wish. I will not be held responsible if your brother,_" he spat the word, emphasizing his scorn, "_becomes angry with you._" He turned away, heading for his own room, and heard her speak one last time. Her voice was tiny.

"_He's your brother, too._"

Mewtwo stormed into his room, tail lashing as he fought to contain his anger once more. The little fool!

* * *

That had not been fun.

Eve winced to herself as he disappeared. That had been far too much emotion from him for one day. She watched him as he left her view and then turned speculatively towards the exit. She was free to talk to the child now. Eve headed upstairs and into the daylight. "_Ellie?_"

The human girl was rooted to the spot where she had been before Eve left her. When she saw the clone her whole body relaxed. "You came back!"

"_Well, yeah. I said I would, didn't I?_"

The child nodded, running over and stopping just short of tackling her. "He didn't hurt you?"

"_Why are you so convinced he would?_" Eve frowned to herself, picking up the girl's shoulder bag. Ellie fidgeted.

"Well..." Eve waited. "When I woke up he was yelling at you pretty loud, and you looked like you really hurt..." The child shifted sheepishly. "Why'd he yell like that? Who is he?"

"_He's my older brother,_" Eve mumbled as an explanation, disconcerted by the whole conversation. How had Ellie heard Mewtwo yell at her? They had been whispering the entire time; the only person who should have heard him was her!

"You said he was hurting you..." The child looked up at her with big brown eyes. "I was only just waking up, so it wasn't all clear, but you called him something. Was it his name?"

Eve groaned. "_Yeah, he has a name._"

"What is it?"

"_Honestly?_" She sighed to herself. "_Come on, let's go inside first. I may get in trouble for sitting out here in the daylight._"

Ellie only hesitated for a moment at the threshold to the caves. Eve had to admire her a little; the girl was brave. Of course, that could have been more from ignorance than anything else. After all, she did squeak rather loudly when the vines shut behind them. Eve fought the urge to laugh as the girl looked around, trying not to think about the fact that Mewtwo knew they were in the den. "_This way._"

"How is there any light?" Ellie stared around her. "It's dim, but... oh!" She pointed to the holes in the walls. "You can't see those from outside!"

"_I think they're slanted upwards to catch the light._" Eve nodded to her door. "_In here. This is my room._"

"You have your own room?" Ellie trotted after her, her eyes widening. "Whoa." Eve noted that the human's pupils were huge to compensate for the dim light. Was her own sight that much better than a human's, then?

"_Do you really think I want to share a room with him?_" Eve sat down on her bed, watching the child's face. Ellie gaped when she stepped into the chamber.

"This place is so cool! How'd you find it?"

"_My brother built it. Erm..._" Ellie had run over to her shelf and was reaching for the brush. "_Please be careful, I'm rather fond of that._"

"Can I brush your hair?" Sparkling brown eyes stared up at her. Eve groaned. The kid was hard to say no to.

"_No pulling,_" she said gruffly, and Ellie scrambled up on to the ledge behind her. Now what? She had to tell Ellie something. How long could she hide what she and Mewtwo really were? Not long, she decided, not if Ellie could hear when they whispered. So there was really only one choice. "_What legendary Pokémon do you know about?_"

"Why're you asking?" The child stared at her. "You are a legend!"

"_No, I'm not. Which ones do you know?_"

"Well..." Ellie considered a moment. "There's Arceus, Mew, Dialga, Palkia, Jirachi..." Oh, right, Jirachi was a legend. Eve let the child rattle on despite the fact that the one she had been waiting for had been the second one named. "Lugia, Ho-oh, the Regis, Celebi, Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Shaymin..." Ellie was counting on her fingers now. Eve didn't see how that worked; she'd already passed ten. "Groudon, Kyogre, Suicune, Entei, Raikou..." How many legends were there? "Rayquaza, Jirachi... wait, I already said him..." Him? Eve blinked as Ellie started running the brush over her hair again. Jirachi wasn't a him. "Darkrai, Regigigas..."

"_Okay, okay, you know a lot of them._" The brush snagged a tangle and Eve winced. "_What do you know, specifically, about Mew?_"

"Oh, Mew is my very favorite one," Ellie squealed. "I know everything in the book about Mew!"

Just what she needed. "_And what does the book say?_" The child tugged at the knots. Eve winced. Her hair hadn't been that bad, had it? "_What does the book say about Mew?_"

"Well..." Eve turned her head a little to look back. Ellie's eyes were narrowed in concentration. "Mew was the Second Life, the first Pokémon created by Arceus. Because of that, Mew got special wisdom and powers. Mew was playful and loved to laugh, and was always dreaming of new things. Mew used the power Arceus had given her to make those things, all of the Pokémon, and that's why they call Mew the ancestor of all Pokémon. Then later seeing a Mew became a sign of good fortune. Mew embodies light, and they only appear to those of great virtue. A Mew can change forms at will, and some believe they can even become invisible, so if you do see one it's supposed to mean great things. A Mew can-"

"_All right, all right, I get the point._" Sheesh, ask a simple question... "_Listen, before I say anything you have to swear you'll keep it a secret, okay? I could get into huge trouble for telling you this, but I trust you anyway. So first I need you to absolutely, positively promise me you won't tell a soul._"

Ellie's eyes were wide as she regarded Eve. She didn't speak or even nod her head, but she did do something that caught Eve by surprise. The child raised her hand, her fingers balled in a loose fist- all but the smallest one. This she held out in what Eve recognized vaguely as the most sacred gesture a child could make. She stared at the hand, wondering how to explain to Ellie that she had no pinkie, before clumsily hooking one of her own fingers with Ellie's. The child beamed. "I promise!"

Eve took a deep breath. "_Okay. The thing about my brother and I is, we're not normal Pokémon. We were actually made by humans, cloned from something else._" Ellie's big brown orbs grew even wider. "_My name is Evetwo. My brother is Mewtwo. We were both cloned from the legendary Pokémon Mew._"

The girl stared at her in shock, the hair brush all but forgotten. Then, quite suddenly, the child squealed. "That is so cool! I can't believe it, you really-"

"_Hush!_" Eve held up her hands. "_Mewtwo's in the other chamber. Keep it down!_"

"Do you know any Mews?" Ellie's excitement rang loud and clear even in her almost-whisper. Eve sighed.

"_Yeah, I know one. She's my other brother... sister... um..._"

"Can you introduce me? Pretty please?" Ellie sat up on her knees, her face suddenly inches away from Eve's. The clone blinked for a moment before placing a hand on the human child's head and firmly pressing down. Ellie settled back into a sitting position. "Please?"

"_I'll try,_" Eve said as she stifled a yawn. "_Mew sort of comes and goes, though. Hard to predict._"

"Oooh." Ellie stared at her before picking up the brush yet again. "Do you have special powers?"

"_Not sure._" Eve closed her eyes, resigning herself to the grooming. "_I'm still pretty young, to be honest. Mew says I'm just a kid._"

"What about Mewtwo, does he have powers?"

"_Well, he did build this place in only a few hours,_" Eve admitted grudgingly. "_And he's really powerful. There's probably a lot of stuff he can do that I don't know about yet._"

The little girl ran the brush through her hair. "So you're still little?"

"_I'm young,_" Eve corrected. "_But not that young. I'm not some little kid. Still, I only woke up recently. I escaped about two weeks ago._"

"Escape?" The hair brush caught. "Why did you escape?"

Eve shifted uncomfortably and took a shaky breath. "_The people who made us weren't good people. All they were interested in was power, at least with me. I don't really know anything about Mewtwo's story, but I know I wasn't happy in the lab._" Ellie sat the brush down, patting her hair. "_I got lucky. Some of the scientists who made me weren't really bad. They helped me get out._"

There was a tug. "So you're happy to be with your brothers?"

Eve frowned. Better to just gloss over that question than actually think about it. There was another tug and a steady pull after, and it was making her suspicious. "_I guess I mostly am. What are you doing?_"

"I'm braiding the part I brushed to get it out of the way." Eve's eyes widened. She was braiding it?! Brushing was one thing, but braiding? Ellie tugged her hair slightly again, and she suddenly remembered an incident with a neighbor child _back then_. It was all she could do not to start whining...

* * *

Was there any rhyme or reason to how that female's mind worked? Any at all? Mewtwo fought against twitching his tail in annoyance. How could she have just told the human like that? Was she really so... so... he could not even find the words to describe her! He rested his head against the wall, listening as Evetwo fended off the child's questions and her own hair brush. Of course the female did not know most of the answers to them. She was hardly observant enough to really know the world around her, much less to decipher her own mysteries. She was not even aware enough to realize that he was listening.

Why did she insist on trusting that human? Mewtwo turned, slipping back into his own chambers. After what Mew said she had been through trust should have been nearly impossible for her, and yet... he settled onto the small stone stool, resting his arms on the table. Was there something within her that he lacked himself, or were the survival senses he had simply missing in her? The female perplexed him in a way that few others ever had, and he despaired of ever finding a method to her madness. It left him with a weariness that made him want to rest his head cross the cool stone surface before him and just forget about her.

Damn Mew for this...

Deep down, he knew there was no logical explanation to blame the kitten for the female's existence. Mewtwo even had a nagging suspicion that Mew had tried to warn him before Evetwo's completion. But her presence was another story. There were places their progenitor could have stored her away where she would have been safe, he was certain of it. There had been no need to get him involved.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Dwelling on the female was only going to work him into another rage, and dislike her though he may, he had no desire at all to actually harm her. It would not do to loose his temper again, as he had upon waking up to find Evetwo above ground and in the company of a human. What had possessed him to put the child in her care? Already he regretted the decision, the fact that he had made it so Evetwo was even more exposed to the child until he determined where to leave her.

Viridian was more than likely out for that. If the child's appearance with portions of her memory missing was reported by the human media, Team Rocket might realize that he, and subsequently Evetwo, had taken up residence nearby. Even if he kept the child with them until his business was done, he still had to consider the possibility of search parties looking for the child. Of course, it was easy enough to deter a small party of volunteer humans and search Pokémon. If they did not find anything, they would move on. Harder to drive off would be any thrill seekers or adventurers that could show up if, again, word did get out when the girl was returned to her kind. Mewtwo sighed. Either way, there were dangers involved.

What he needed to do, then, was find out where the girl was from and work from there. If she hailed from Viridian itself, he would have to risk unwanted investigations and send her home before any search parties were sent out. And if she was not... he frowned at the thought... then it might be best to keep the human until his work in Viridian was done, in which case he could put her back where she belonged and be gone long before any investigators showed up.

And that, considering the planning he had to do, could take a week or more. Then again...

Mewtwo raised his head as another thought entered his mind. If he did keep the child with them for this time, it could provide the ideal distraction for Evetwo. Right now, more than anything, he needed a way to keep the female out of his business. If he played this right, then that child could work, giving him the perfect opportunity to do some real damage to Team Rocket without worrying about Evetwo. Mewtwo looked up at the sunlight slanting down through the slits in the wall. Maybe, just maybe, there was an opportunity here after all...


	38. BONUS CHAPTER: Eclipse Special

Night before last, there was a lunar eclipse. Sad to say, I sat up and watched it, and it inspired me. It inspired me to work not on a standard Anomaly chapter, but on this strange little bonus chapter I wrote centered around Mewtwo and Eve. Because let's face it, they'd notice an eclipse. And while Mewtwo would understand what was happening, Eve might be a little more lost. Which somehow led me to this piece of siblingly fluffy crap. I didn't know I could do anything even remotely cute with these two characters...

Anyway, sit back and enjoy this break from the normal insanity. You're going to need it. Believe me, you're going to need it...

So let's go!

* * *

**Anomaly Eclipse Mini-Chapter**

**The Moon's Own Light**

Evetwo stared up at the sky, enchanted. For half an hour now she had stood, rooted to that same spot, just watching and wondering what was happening. She had never seen anything like this before!

Above her, the full moon was fading fast. It had started with the littlest sliver of black on one edge, something she had happened to see while searching for shooting stars. Eve had stared, transfixed, as the blackness had spread, swallowing the silver orb. And then, when the moon was almost lost, it had begun to glow red.

It really was the most amazing thing. There the moon sat now, fully red, all of it's glimmer gone. The night that had been uncommonly bright was now as deep as if there had been no moon at all, only this strange red stone in the sky. What was going on?

There was movement behind her. Eve's head snapped around, but it was only Mewtwo coming out of the caves. His eyes were trained on the skies, just as hers had been. "_I thought this was tonight._"

Eve looked back at the red moon, it's light bled away until she couldn't see the craters. "_What is it?_"

"_It is a lunar eclipse,_" Mewtwo said, his voice calmer and more mellow than she had ever heard it before. It almost sounded like he was very far away. His eyes, too, were distant. Eve frowned and looked back up at the red moon.

"_What does that mean?_"

There was a soft sigh from behind her. "_A lunar eclipse is when a planet passes between the sun and the moon, blocking out the moon._"

"_Oh..._" Eve tilted her head to one side as Mewtwo stepped up beside her. Had they ever stood shoulder-to-shoulder this way before? "_Which planet?_"

"_For this eclipse, from what I have heard, it is the one called Mercury._"

The cloned female nodded, staring in wonder at the red disk. So when it looked like the moon was being eaten away, it was really only Mercury blocking out the sun. "_Why is it red?_"

"_I do not know,_" Mewtwo told her solemnly. "_Every time I have ever seen a lunar eclipse, the moon has turned red. But I have never found out why. It has always seemed enough just to know that it does._"

Eve swished her tail to one side. "_Maybe it's the moon's own light shining through?_"

There was another soft swish as Mewtwo shifted his weight, his tail arching softly through the air as hers just had. He scoffed lightly. "_The moon has no light, Evetwo. It can only reflect the light of the sun._"

"_Well, maybe that's not so true after all,_" Eve contended stubbornly. "_Maybe the moon does have it's own light, but the sun's too stubborn to let it shine!_" The red face of the moon seemed to be slipping now, a bolt of white light appearing at one edge. Eve frowned to herself. The eclipse was ending.

"_The moon has no light,_" Mewtwo repeated firmly, "_because it is made of stone. Stone does not produce it's own radiance._" Eve frowned. She needed an argument...

"_But Mew told me Moonstones glow!_" There, that had to convince him. Eve turned to judge for a response, but Mewtwo's expression was closed.

"_Moonstones,_" he said after a moment, "_Only glow because of an inherent elemental energy._"

"_But they do glow!_" Eve nodded her head, proud of herself for proving him wrong. Mewtwo sighed again.

"_Have you ever seen a Moonstone, Evetwo?_" Eve shook her head. "_Moonstones glow, yes. But the light they emit is not red, it is a very pale blue-ish-green. And besides, humans have yet to prove that true elemental Moonstones even come from the moon._"

"_But they haven't proven they don't, either!_" Mewtwo turned to stare at her. Eve looked back at the moon. The white glow was spreading and the red was fading to black on the opposite edge. "_And anyway, maybe it's not our Earth Moonstones at all. Maybe moon Moonstones are red._"

"_The stones on the moon are white._" Mewtwo's tail swished again, and Eve moved hers so they wouldn't bump. "_If the moon did glow, it would be white as the stones are, just as it is white reflecting the sun._"

Eve pouted to herself, angry that her idea was so easily dismissed despite the fact that she had hardly expected anything more. "_I say it's more of a silver, myself._"

"_Arguing for the sake of arguing will get you nowhere,_" Mewtwo chided, his eyes on the waning eclipse. "_The moon becomes visible when the sun shines directly upon it. That light then reflects back onto the Earth. When the Earth blocks out part of the sun's light, the moon waxes and wanes accordingly. When the Earth does not impede the sun and it shines completely on the moon, the moon is full. When the Earth completely blocks the sun, it is a new moon._"

"_Tonight is a full moon._" Eve tilted her head as the red faded away, leaving a black and white moon in the sky.

"_Yes, tonight is a full moon._"

She frowned. "_You make it sound boring._"

"_I do not think it is boring at all,_" Mewtwo murmured in a tone she had never heard him use before. Eve snapped her head about quickly to look at his face. Her brother's eyes were dark, his expression quiet and intent. He almost looked like he was waiting for something. "_In fact, when I look at the moon, I rather think... of us._"

The female blinked a few times, caught off guard and confused. "_Of... us?_"

He nodded, his eyes never leaving the moon. "_This great sphere lights the sky at night by reflecting the light of the sun. Without the sun, the moon has no light, no life. In the same way, you and I are reflections of Mew, false lights in the night taking our life from what is real and true. We reflect and refract his light, bending it to our own wills, but the fact remains that there is nothing we have ever done, nothing we could ever do, that Mew has not done before us. Our abilities only reflect his, and a small portion of them at that. Even our forms are not completely our own, for you can see his shadow hidden within us. It is a sad existence, but it is undeniably who we are._" He turned his gaze to her, and her breath caught in her throat. "_Although sometimes with you I wonder..._"

Was that how he had always seen the world? Eve felt a heavy sense of shocked sadness course through her. No wonder he was so cold, if that was all he could see of himself. She looked at his eyes again. That was the difference, the ice was gone. She swallowed. "_What do you wonder about me?_"

The way he was looking at her was unnerving, and she was relieved when he turned his eyes back to the sky. There was a long silence before he spoke.

"_I have seen pictures,_" he said at last, "_of what the Earth looks like from the moon. It waxes and wanes in the sky, the same as the moon does for us, reflecting the light of the sun. But the Earth has it's own light and life as well, the light and life of the planets and the people and the multitudes of other living things. The Earth has no true dark side, because always there are the lights of the cities and towns shining through the shadow. The Earth reflects the sun, yes, but it also has a powerful spark all it's own. You have been twisted into a reflection, a refraction, the same as I have, but you still have that spark..._"

It was the most he'd ever spoken to her. Eve stared up at her brother's face again, trying to make sense of it all. There was a sadness in the way he spoke, hidden in the inflections, a sort of secret pain. A longing, she thought, when he had acknowledged that she was different than him. In his eyes, did that spark make her more than him? That wasn't true. That wasn't true at all... "_You're wrong._"

For an instant Mewtwo stiffened before turning his gaze away from the moon. The black was only a sliver now anyway. "_Pardon?_"

"_You're wrong,_" she said again. "_You're wrong about everything. I'm not special at all because you... you have your own light, too._"

He studied her for a long moment, and when he did speak it was nothing more than a soft, quiet "_Do I?_"

She nodded hesitantly. "_Sometimes when I want to know where you are, I close my eyes..._" she let them fall shut... "_Just like this. I close my eyes and I reach out, like this._" And she reached out, her consciousness brushing against his clumsily. "_Whenever I find someone this way, it makes a little flare. I can see the colors and shapes of their energy._" She pushed her mind out further. "_Right now, the Rattata family is in its nest. Their energy is sort of tense and wavy when they watch for predators, all but the baby, who is fluffy and soft. It's good that his parents are careful, because Pidgeotto is circling overhead. His energy is very sleek. And then right in front of me, I see you._"

"_And what does my energy look like,_" Mewtwo asked quietly.

Eve tilted her head, studying what was there before her. "_Your energy is the brightest of them all. In the center it's like this shimmery dark blue, but it fades into silver around the edges. It's so strong and solid, I can actually see you inside of it. And sometimes there are little swirls of silver inside the blue, also, little wisps. No one has these but you. It's very pretty._" She called her consciousness back and smiled. "_It shines._"

When she opened her eyes, Mewtwo was regarding her with a quiet intensity that made the furs on the back of her neck stand on end. "_What you see is mental energy, the psychic auras of the things around you._"

"_Your light is still the brightest,_" Eve insisted. "_And besides, you make things. You make the caves we live in, you made the plants grow on the island. You couldn't do that without a spark. You have your own light, and it's very, very bright!_"

There was another pause, the longest yet as Mewtwo's eyes searched her face. She met his gaze, not even flinching away as their eyes locked. Finally Mewtwo gave a hesitant nod. "_Perhaps you are right. Perhaps I do have my own light, just as you or Mew._"

"_Good._" Eve bobbed her head curtly as Mewtwo turned back to face the moon. "_Then maybe the red was the moon's own light after all?_"

There was a soft sound, and Eve's eyes widened when she realized what it was- laughter. Mewtwo was chuckling softly to himself. "_If you insist, Evetwo. If you insist._"

She said nothing, only turned towards the sky, and together they watched as the last of Mercury's shadow slipped away, leaving the moon silver and bright once more.


	39. The Meaning of Alone

Hey, all! I have some big news for you! For those of you who don't know, the Tales of Flame/ Anomaly/ Hoenn Chronicles network has its own website now! That WOULD be why this update took so long- I've been steadily working on stuff for that. The name we finally picked was The Fruits of Our Labors... Apples Not Included. Because you know Flame would eat all the apples... We call it the A.N.I. for short. So far it's not even close to finished, but we do have the message boards up. Just click on the homepage on my profile to get there!

And even bigger news... This month, as of the twenty-seventh, Anomaly will be one year old! I'll be posting a chapter with what I hope is some very special material on that date, and there will also be fun extras and submissions by other authors exclusive to the site, including a new network crossover, done by me this time, and a written submission by Buwaro! Rizu also hopes to have something done by then that will leave you all in stitches... if she can stop playing with her new laptop in time!

Now, as for the chapter itself... I am emotionally exhausted. Oi! The end of this one was a pain in the ass! Mew's mental breakdowns are very, very messy, folks, and you don't want to get caught in one. Ever. Even stargazing didn't help me sleep after this one... But I think the beginning of the chapter is pretty funny, actually. Ellie and Eve crack me up. So let's go!

* * *

"_Okay, so let me get this straight._" Eve studied the human critically. "_In the beginning, there was just one really big Pokémon named Arceus, and he built the whole universe._"

"That's right." Ellie sat back, studying her handiwork on Eve's hair. Sitting still had gotten a lot easier once Eve had just accepted the memories that came with having the child brush her. Easy enough, in fact, that Eve had decided to ask again about the legends.

"_So if Arceus had to make everything, including the rest of the universe, where did Arceus come from in the first place?_"

"Nobody knows. It's part of the mystery, I guess."

"_Uh-huh._" Eve stared at the human doubtfully. "_It sounds fishy to me._"

"It's a legend. They don't have to make perfect sense."

"_Still, I can see why you want to re-write that book._"

Ellie sighed. "You're not a very good listener, are you?"

"_I can listen just fine,_" Eve mumbled as Ellie started undoing the braids that had separated the brushed hair from the tangled hair. "_It just doesn't sound right somehow._"

"Well, that's your own fault!"

"_How is it my fault that your story doesn't make sense?_"

"You're related to Mew! You should be able to believe anything!"

Eve blinked. "_Come to think of it, that may be the problem._"

Ellie stared at her, confused. "Eh?"

"_Mew is weird. You'll understand when you meet him... um... her... whatever._"

"You don't know Mew's gender?" Ellie gave her a dubious look.

"_It's not that I don't know it exactly, it's more that it keeps changing._"

The human's eyes got very, very wide. "Mew can change like that?"

"_Uh-huh._" Eve frowned, pulling her bangs out of her face. She felt fluffy... "_Somehow I've never actually caught Mew transforming, of course. It always just sort of happens when I'm not paying attention._"

"How do you tell the difference?"

"_Um..._" Eve tilted her head. "_I don't know, really. Some kind of instinct, I guess._" She shrugged. "_I just kind of know._"

"Wow..." Ellie stared at her. "But you and Mewtwo stay the same, right?"

"_Yeah, we can't change. I don't think there's any reason I'd ever want to, anyway._"

"What can you do?" It was as though the girl was trying to study her again. Eve shifted where she was sitting, careful not to smack the small girl with her tail.

"_Well, not much yet. I have my psychic abilities, those are good. And then I have Shadow Ball. It's this really flashy black attack, I think you'd like it. I can also use a fire attack and an ice attack. And I can heal myself._"

"That sounds handy!"

"_It is, as long as I don't have to do it too often. If I keep using recover, it stops working._"

"But you're strong enough you don't have to use it much, right? You beat those birds really easily!"

"_Kid, you'd be amazed._" Eve shifted again, startled by a sudden prickling in her mind, a tiny whisper. Mew? It was definitely the tingle of someone trying to access her consciousness, and it had that familiar edge to it. It had to be the kitten. Eve sat up straighter, trying to reach out and touch the contacting psyche, whispering to it. "_Mew?_"

"_Hey, how'd you guess?_" Mew's over-all tone was jovial, but there was an underlying edge that she couldn't quite figure out. "_Where are you right now?_"

"_We're near Viridian. Mewtwo made a new cave on the side of a mountain._"

"_Okay, I can find that. Do me a favor, kiddo?_"

"_Yeah?_"

"_Come out of wherever you're hiding so I can find you a little more easily, I think Mewtwo's trying to suppress any excess psychic energy where you are. And please don't tell him I'm coming._"

Eve nodded and felt the fragile contact dissolve with a jolt. Ellie was staring up at her anxiously. "Are you okay? You went all still!"

Eve blinked a few times. "_I'm fine. I was just talking to someone far away. Can you stay here for a moment?_" Ellie frowned. "_It's just for a few minutes. I have to go outside._"

"Okay," the human said cheerfully. Eve stared at her doubtfully for a moment before shrugging it off and heading out of the room. The hallway was silent as she headed for the stairs and struggled with the vines for a moment. They were wound together much tighter than they had been before. Finally she broke through to the surface and looked around her. "_Mew?_"

"Oh, there you are." There was a rustling in the bushes behind her. Eve turned just as a reddish-pink nose popped out. "Hey, kiddo."

Eve just stared. "_Mew... why is there blood on your nose?_"

"I cut myself shaving," the kitten said flippantly. "I also seem to be completely stuck. Hmm. No, wait, there we go." The kitten came tumbling out of the bushes then, and Eve gaped openly at her condition. The tiny legend was covered in cuts and scrapes, her fur was discolored, and as she rolled across the grass Eve had a glimpse of a wicked cut on her cheek. Mew slowed to a stop glaring at the offending underbrush. "That wasn't fun. Stupid thorns..."

The clone found her voice. "_What the bloody hell happened to you?!_"

"Watch your language," Mew snapped, but it was only half hearted as the kitten lifted off the ground and moved around her in a circle. Mew's eyes were anxious. "How about you? Are you holding out okay? Mewtwo's not being too much of an arse, is he?"

Eve scowled. "_You're ignoring my question. What happened to you?_"

"I got in a little scrap is all. I'll be fine."

"_A little scrap?_" The clone stared. "_With what? You're supposed to be a legend!_"

Mew's head jerked, her eyes widening. "You mean Mewtwo actually told you about that? Wow, I thought I'd have to do it myself."

"_No, he didn't. Who did this to you?_"

Mew frowned. "He didn't? Then who did?"

The clone kicked her toe into the ground in frustration. "_Mew! Tell me what-_" The next thing she knew, images were flashing in her mind of the past two days, starting from when they left the island and working their way to the present moment. Eve winced slightly as the mental contact broke suddenly. Mew's eyes flashed.

"Evetwo!"

Eve winced and tried to look innocent. "_Yes?_"

The kitten groaned. "Don't you ever think before you do anything? No, don't talk, I already know- there was no time to think. I guess I can understand that." The pink psychic bobbed up and nuzzled Eve's cheek. "But why did you go out in the first place?"

Eve dug her foot against the ground again. "_We're supposed to be aware of the world around us, right? I heard sounds, and Mewtwo couldn't check what they were._"

"Because he was asleep." She nodded, and Mew sighed. "Still, what if that hadn't been some harmless little girl?"

"_How was I going to know if I didn't find out?_" Mew blinked a few times, smiled suddenly, and leaned up to nuzzle her cheek even more enthusiastically. Eve equated it to a happy hug.

"That sounds like something a sibling of mine would say, yep! I knew one of you had to have it in you!"

Something wasn't right, Eve decided. There was something about the kitten's cheerfulness that seemed forced today. The clone reached up, brushing her hand against her sister's ear. "_Mew, what happened?_"

Mew frowned. "See, you're doing it again, thinking something is wrong."

"_Because something is,_" Eve said stubbornly. "_I may be young, but I'm not completely stupid. You're hiding something, and you're doing a really bad job of it._"

Mew jerked her head away from Eve's touch then. "See, there we go. Everyone gets a pop at me today, is that it?"

The clone's eyes widened. "_I wasn't having a pop at anyone! Mew, you're all torn up, how can I not worry?_"

The kitten stared at her for a very long time. Finally, Mew seemed to decide she was being honest. The tiny psy sank slightly in the air. "Sorry, sis. I guess I should have known better. You'd never turn on me like your brother, would you?" The question seemed rhetorical, but Eve shook her head anyway. Mew bobbed back up and rested her head on the larger psychic's shoulder. "Good girl. You're a good kid, even when you do dumb things."

Eve reached up and rubbed between Mew's ears. "_But who were you fighting?_"

The big blue eyes darkened. "Someone who thinks their own balance is more important than the natural order." The little cat frowned as she looked up. "Don't worry, I won't let him hurt you."

"_Oh... okay..._" The larger psychic frowned. "_Are you going to be okay?_"

"If I rest a little I'll be fine. I just have to get my strength back to recover and I'll be right as rain."

Eve nodded. "_Does that mean you're going to stay with us?_"

"Well..." Mew hemmed softly. "It kind of would be nice if I could crash in your room for a little while. You don't mind, do you? And then I can meet that fascinating little human?"

"_If Mewtwo asks, it wasn't my idea,_" Eve said quickly.

"Deal." Mew turned and headed for the door to the caves. Eve paused.

"_Hey, Mew?_"

The kitten looked back. "Yeah?"

"_Did you win?_"

Mew sat in midair, just staring at her. There was something in the kitten's eyes that she couldn't read, something that was a little scary. And then the kitten smiled. "Of course I did, kiddo, what do you take me for?"

* * *

Sometimes it still felt like he was twitching from that electric shock. 

The gray pup was the picture of misery as he counted the tiles on the wall. Even the goggles resting on the side of his pillow seemed unhappy, the straps limp and the lenses dirty. He sighed, coming up once again with fifty-six red tiles mixed into the white ones at random intervals. Visual interest, humans called it. The Poochyena called it a good distraction the first ten times around, but after a while counting colors got pretty dull...

"Are you awake over there?"

Poochie's eyes shifted. Resting on the next bed over, Buwaro-master's Mudkip hadn't faired any better than he had. On the contrary, the water-type had been one of the first to fall at the cliffs, swept away yet again by that damned psychic's shockwave before he had even been given a chance to register that he was out of his Pokeball. The mudfish had called it "the crummiest feeling of déjà vu ever" when he woke up in the emergency center a day later, and swore up and down that the genetic freak's power levels had increased tenfold. Poochie, personally, thought it had more to do with the Koffing that exploded almost on top of the Mudkip not ten minutes later, courtesy of a rogue fireball by that scarred Charmander that had been fighting with the clone. Frowning, Poochie realized that the water-type was still waiting for a reply. "I'm awake, Kipper-san."

The Mudkip winced at the name, no more fortunate in Buwaro-master's choice of naming than Poochie himself had been. "Red tiles still the same?"

"Yes, the red tiles are still the same."

"Yellow ones haven't changed either?"

"No, the yellow tiles haven't changed, either." Hadn't Kipper-san laughed at him for counting the tiles, though?

"Well, damn. I guess we're still stuck here."

"Buwaro-master said we would be until the bees recovered."

Mudkip raised his head and stared. "Kid, how come you use 'master' and 'friend' for Buwaro and Ray and Japanese terms for everyone else?"

"Buwaro-master and his friend are special," Poochie said stubbornly. "And besides, I never learned the other words until after I met them."

The Mudkip chuckled. "No, I guess you didn't. Just don't get too human on me, okay? Especially if it's from watching that crap Ray calls entertaining. There's something distinctly wrong with that stuff."

"Buwaro-master's television shows aren't much better," the pup said quietly. Kipper-san stared at him for a moment before laughing.

"No, I guess they aren't, are they? At least Ray's choices have understandable plot lines!"

Poochie chuckled softly to himself. Kipper-san was a good friend, the kind of friend you desperately needed at the end of a long day.

There was a soft ping then, and both Pokémon looked up as the door slid open. Their trainer walked in, his hair in his eyes as it always was. "Hey, you two." Kipper-san just tilted his head, but Poochie yipped a greeting. His trainer gave him a tired smile. "Well, boys, it looks like you're finally going to get out of here. They're releasing the bees tomorrow, and then the administration has put us on indefinite leave, active immediately." This time it was Poochie's turn to tilt his head, aware of Kipper-san sitting up on the next bed over. The human's voice was strained. "Figures, doesn't it? We built the technology to track that thing, we followed it and figured out where it was going, took a huge risk getting on that train, got dragged all the way to the Sevii... and now we're just being shooed away so the more experienced forces can handle it." Poochie whined softly as the trainer walked over to pat Kipper-san on the head. "I guess I'm glad, though. That thing's a monster. I couldn't ask you two to fight it again." Kipper-san made a quiet "kip" of agreement, but besides that said nothing. Both Pokémon knew it was better to just let the human ramble. "So, where to from here, do you think? Ray says he wants to go blow some cash on a real vacation. You guys think you're up to that?" They both nodded eagerly, and Buwaro-master smiled for the first time since they'd gotten back from the islands. "Hey, I know where we can go, too..."

* * *

The last thing in the world Mewtwo needed was for Mew to be here. 

The clone clenched one hand in annoyance as Evetwo fumbled through the vines upstairs. He had sensed the kitten before Mew had even made it to the clearing above him. Mew's attention had been divided; she had not even reacted as Mewtwo stole up to the entrance to listen once more. Evetwo's grip on her voice was weak, easy to pick up on, and now it seemed that he had a new problem on his hands; Mew could check up on his actions through the female's mind. It was obnoxious enough dealing with Mew's constant stopping in without the kitten being able to monitor him through Evetwo as well. Mewtwo sighed. He would have to teach her to close out her mind, then. True, it might make it harder to out-guess her, but at least Mew would not have a surveillance system handy...

There was a flare in the energy of the den, the warp of teleportation in the air behind him. Mewtwo turned, erecting a barrier just in time to avoid the pink whip singing through the air towards his head. He would rather not loose an eye to Mew's tail. "You idiot! What the hell gives you the right to do that to her?"

The clone stood his ground, studying the kitten levelly. Of course Mew would be angry with him right now. He had done a few things in the past day and a half that Mew would consider abusive, yet one more reason he needed to teach the female to shut the kitten out of her mind. Mew glared across at him, clearly mangled and panting lightly, but with a fierce determination in his eyes nonetheless. Mewtwo frowned, wondering if he even had the energy to back up the gleam. "_What do you want, Mew?_"

The tiny feline virtually spat at him in his rage. "What do you think I want? How dare you treat Sis that way! How dare you!"

"_If you are referring to my methods of silencing her yesterday, she was given fair warning that she needed to stop making noise. It was not my fault that she did not heed those warnings._"

"So you just grabbed her?" Could the kitten ever become angry without screeching that way? Mew's tail lashed dangerously. "And what about today? What could possibly give you the right to fling her around that way? What were you thinking?!"

Mewtwo narrowed his eyes and turned away. "_I do not need to justify my actions to you, Mew. She needed to be taught a lesson. I think I accomplished it rather well._" A stretch, he knew, but it would not do to explain to Mew that he had lost his temper so easily.

"Taught a lesson? _Taught_ a _lesson_? All you did was scare her half out of her wits! You hurt her, damn it! You hurt her!" Mew gasped between words slightly, fatigue taking its toll. This was not worth the effort it took to broadcast his thoughts.

"_Come back when you have the energy to pursue this conversation. A petty fight is of no interest to me right now._"

There was a long silence behind him, and for a moment he entertained the thought that Mew just might leave. But then the kitten sighed, a tired, weary sigh. It sounded... old. "Don't do this, Mewtwo. Don't cut her away this easily."

Something was different in Mew's voice. Mewtwo turned back and was startled to see that the kitten, for the first time since they had ever met, was completely stationary. The ears did not flick, the feet did not swing in the air, even the twitching tail was deathly still as Mew looked up at him with a quiet sort of anguish. "Can't you see what you've been given? You have a chance now, a chance to not be alone any more. Eve needs you to teach her, to protect her, and in return you have family now. You don't have to be by yourself."

"_Until she decides to walk away,_" Mewtwo countered bitterly. "_Once she has grown and matured, she will leave to seek her own destiny. Such is the way of all living things._"

"And where would she go on her own?" For a moment Mew seemed to be getting smaller, but no, he was only sinking in the air to land on the top of Mewtwo's rough table. His tail fell limp on the stone surface. "You're her brother, Mewtwo. If she leaves, it will be because you pushed her away."

"_And I shall be glad for it. I have no desire to constantly interact with others, no need for companionship or family. I am fully content to just be alone._"

"You say that now," the kitten whispered hoarsely, "but sometimes I wonder if you even understand the word alone."

That was too much. Mewtwo allowed his tail to lash once in his anger, Mew's eyes following it passively. "_Of course I understand alone! You seem to forget what I am, Mew. I have been alone from the moment I was born, doomed to stand on my own against the world and everyone in it, hunted by my creators, abandoned by my creations. Even when she was imprisoned Evetwo had people to talk to, humans who would care for her. I had no one. She can claim to have friends, allies, comrades in both humans and Pokémon. I cannot. Even with your touted 'family,' I am still alone, for there will never be any more of a solid bond between her and myself than there is between you and I. I understand that well._"

The tiny legend stared up at him with darkened eyes. "You stupid child."

Mewtwo's tail jerked again, quite against his will this time. "_What did you just call me?_"

"You stupid, stupid child." The kitten was so tense he was actually trembling. "You don't understand a damn thing. The only reason you're alone is because of the selfishness of your own actions. You have no idea how it feels to be lost by yourself, cold and alone, as whole centuries go by. You don't know how much it hurts to open your heart, only to watch as those you care about grow old and die around you. It was your own greedy pride that led you to create those other clones, to thrust them into the same world that you so hated, so why should you have been surprised when they walked away? At least you didn't have to watch them waste away into nothingness. You can't even imagine what that's like, the death of someone you love. You can't imagine the anguish afterwards, the accursed knowledge that you're still here, still alive, and now horribly, gut-wrenchingly alone once more."

The kitten was lifting into the air again, almost as though he was being hoisted from the shoulders, and Mewtwo actually found himself stepping back. This was a side of Mew he had never seen before, this half-maddened creature before him, and he could not tell if he was merely unsettled by it or actually frightened. "I would have given anything for a sister then," Mew continued, his voice raising in a crescendo of anger and pain, "someone like me, someone who would understand. She's like you in ways I can't even compare to, similar to you in ways you can't even imagine. She _knows_, Mewtwo. She knows what it's like, living a false life, born in a lab. She knows how it feels to be stared at as though you had some sort of disease, to walk through the world with people whispering behind their hands the moment they thought you had passed. She knows what it feels like to be different, your kind of different. The scientists never hid their contempt from her, no, she had to hear it from their own mouths, to feel it in the sting of the whip she was beaten with, the blows that wretched tamer dealt with lashes and kicks! Night after night I had to listen as her heart cried, a secret pain that she couldn't even admit to herself. She knows, and even more so than you do, because she also knows what she should have! She knows what it's like to be normal just as well! She has memories of a brother who loved her and cared for her, one who put the bonds of blood they shared before anything else, and she grew dependant on that! Even now, she needs to have a brother!" Finally, the too-still tail moved, lashing through the air so fast it almost hissed. "She needs you, damn it! She needs you to look after her, to protect her from the world around her, to help her overcome her own pain! She needs you to help her heal, not to hurt her more..." And then, so softly he could barely hear it, "and you need her... before you turn out like me... you stupid, selfish child..."

And then Mew was gone. Mewtwo stared blankly at the spot where he had hung in the air before shakily reaching out with his mind. There was Evetwo, asleep in her own little room, and the human girl besides, also asleep, and then... there. The kitten had gone outside, up to the clearing, and his mind burned with an anguish that hurt when Mewtwo's consciousness got to close. The clone drew back into himself again, opting to let the small legend have his space, and found himself wondering just how old the kitten was. He had given it some thought before, but never really dwelled on the subject. How long had the tiny psychic wandered alone? Mewtwo turned, taking a hesitant step towards the door, and then another, and another again, before he even realized where he was going. It only took him a few strides to cross the threshold into the hall, and from there to look into the female's room. Yes, she was asleep just as he had felt she was, and even when she was curled up under her quilt her tail wrapped about her so that the tip rested over her nose. He had wondered, when they first met, why she slept in what must have been a rather uncomfortable position. Now he realized with a sickening twist in his stomach that he had known all along what the reason was- it was the only way she could lie to protect her face and stomach from any beatings the humans might have tried to rouse her with when she slept. The blows that wretched tamer dealt with lashes and kicks...

No.

The clone gritted his teeth. She was different from him, born first into the cradling hands with which humanity held their own and then afterwards, and only afterwards, as a bastard of science such as himself. No matter how similar they may be, there would always be that one vital difference between them. Her understanding would never be so complete as his. Mew was wrong, he had to be. That was all there was to it.

And then, despite the leave of rest he had taken earlier, Mewtwo felt a wave of exhaustion creeping in. Perhaps that was the problem, then; he was still tired from the over-use of his power over the past several days. Yes, that was why Mew had been able to get under his skin that way, he had been mentally drained before the kitten had even shown up. It was nothing more than that. Mewtwo turned with a soft sigh and headed back to his own chambers. A few more hours of sleep would do him good right now, and then he would be able to deal with things in his usual logical manner. A stupid child, indeed...


	40. Legends: The Anomaly Birthday Chapter

I think today, oddly enough, has to be one of the best days of my life.

Today, the story that you are reading now is one year old. Looking back, I can easily call the past year the worst one in my entire life, and yet I've held strong. Most... no, all of that strength came from this story. The story, the people I connected with through it, the outlet it provided, and the focus it gave me. Anomaly gave me something to cling to, to grasp a hold of. It got me through when I wanted to give up. I have to thank Buwaro and Rizu for this, for keeping me writing, and Ray for never hanging up the phone, even when the pain I felt terrified him. I want to thank Angie and Vicki and Sea, who were there from the start, and Shiguya who has become one of my dearest friends. And I also need to thank Diete, without whom this chapter wouldn't have been possible. I decided to do something special today, and I hope you all like it.

Here's to the year that's passed, and the one ahead.

So let's go!

* * *

When had she gone to bed?

Eve blinked a few times, staring at the tip of her own tail. She remembered being outside, talking to Mew, and then coming back inside to check on Ellie. The human had been asleep, and then... The psychic uncurled her body, pushing herself up with her arms and arching her back to loosen up the muscles. Cat like, she thought with a wry little smile. Eve let herself yawn once, glancing over at the human child as she did so. Ellie was fast asleep. The clone looked up at the slots on the wall, wondering what time it was. The golden-colored light told her it was some time in the afternoon. So where was Mew? She tried calling out tentatively with her mind, reaching for the familiar energy. "_Mew?_" There was no answer. Eve frowned and tried again. "_Oh, Mew!_"

"Good morning!" The reply came form immediately behind her. Eve turned to stare at the kitten. Mew flicked an ear. "Aw, you didn't jump this time."

"_I'm getting used to you,_" Eve said dryly as she looked the kitten over. Apparently Mew had obtained the energy to heal somewhere, as the only visible wound remaining was the ghost of one long scratch on the kitten's cheek. Eve tilted her head, doing her best to look hopeful. "_Breakfast today? I've missed milk._"

The kitten actually chuckled. "I was wondering if you would ask me that. Give me a few minutes to go get it." Eve nodded. The tiny psychic seemed to be doing better as she teleported out of the room. Sister today, then. Eve looked over at the human again before turning her attention to her shelf. She needed her hairbrush. Of course, the floor was probably cold, the cave was pretty cool... well, then, it was a chance to practice her telekinesis. Eve focused on the brush, pulling it with her mind, and was pleased when it came right to her. She went for the mirror next and got a mild surprise when the vine on the horn hooked to it. She knew she hadn't taken that off. Ah, well, Mew had probably done it. The clone shrugged to herself and set about the task of putting her hair to order. Maybe she should use that red band to tie it back today...

There was a thump from behind her just as she was finishing up. "I got it," Mew chimed in. "I brought cups today, too, so we can share it with your little friend. How are you feeling?"

"_Shouldn't I be asking you that?_" Eve stared doubtfully at the mug Mew offered her on the tip of her tail. It was round, blue-glazed pottery with flowers etched on it. The clone took it anyway. "_Where'd you get the energy to heal?_"

"I know tricks." Mew popped the lid open on the milk canister, letting Eve dip her cup in first. How did the kitten always get it when it was so cold? She took a sip. "Actually," Mew said suddenly, "I kind of stole the energy from your brother when he was sleeping. He'll probably wake up with a headache, so watch out."

That was all it took for the milk to go down the wrong way. Eve sputtered, gasping for air. Mew reached over and thumped her on the back with the end of her tail. "_You did what?!_"

"I stole a bit of energy," the tiny psy repeated flippantly. "Oh, not a lot, just enough to heal the scrapes and bruises. After all," Mew gestured off to Eve's side, "I have to make a good first impression."

Eve turned just as Ellie began to sit up. The child yawned, blinking up at her sleepily. "Good morning."

"_Morning,_" Eve said simply, not bothering to correct the child as she rubbed her eyes. It took her a moment to look around again.

"What's that?"

Eve followed her gaze. The milk canister sat there, but no Mew. "_That's breakfast..._" She glanced around the room, spotting the kitten almost immediately. The little legend was right next to the girl, reaching for her head. Ellie blinked at the first innocent little tugs on her curls, then turned as the motion persisted, her big brown eyes growing almost as large as Mew's blue ones. Eve sighed. "_And that's Mew._"

Jeez, the human had big eyes. "M-mew?" Eve nodded, but the child never even looked over at her. "Really?"

"In the fur," the legend piped up. The sleepy sort of wonder in Ellie's eyes turned to wide-awake excitement at the kitten's tiny cry. Ellie couldn't possibly have understood the kitten, but the little mewling sounds told her all she needed to know. "Oh, wow! He's so tiny!"

"_He's a she right now, actually._"

"Ooh," the child breathed. "Can I... Can I touch her?"

"_I guess so,_" Eve mumbled as Ellie raised one little hand. The girl moved slowly, as though she were afraid that Mew was like a bubble, and would pop when she touched her. Mew tilted her head as Ellie's fingers paused hesitantly, and then leaned forward and butted the girl's hand. Ellie's eyes widened.

"She's so soft!"

"_Yeah, and she loves attention, too._" Eve stared as Mew butted the human's hand again, acting for all the world like a pampered floating house pet. Ellie giggled and scratched her ears. "_She really loves attention._"

"Can she talk the way you do, or does she only meow?"

"_I can use telepathy, yeah,_" a sweet 'voice' chimed in, startling Ellie to the point that her hand froze. "_Oh, don't stop, it feels good. A little to the left, please._"

"Okay!"

Eve couldn't help a tiny smile as she drank her milk. Mew certainly looked more relaxed today, that was good. But there was still that slight tension in her smile, like she was trying too hard. What on earth had happened to her?

Mew's ears twitched suddenly. "_It's too stuffy in here,_" the tiny psy announced. "_Let's go outside._"

"_That means getting up,_" Eve protested. Mew just shrugged.

"_Being outside is good for you. Sunlight is healthy, I've been trying to teach your brother that for years. Come on, I'll get the can._"

The clone sighed as she trudged to her feet, Ellie grabbing her bag as she stumbled to stand. Mew looped the can with her tail. Before Eve could mention the cups, she had vanished. "_Well, that just figures._"

"Come on, I have questions to ask her!" Ellie was wide awake now, and Eve almost laughed at her as the girl hurriedly changed her clothing. The blue skirt the child put on didn't seem like it would protect her legs any more than the shorts had, but it was the white t-shirt that made Eve cover her mouth with one hand. How did she expect to keep that clean? She felt an overwhelming surge of pity for Mew as the child ran up the steps. The kitten didn't know what she was in for. Eve grabbed the horn, tying it around her neck before scooping up the cups and going to untangle the vines for Ellie. There had to be some other way for the child to get in and out...

As she headed for the stairs, a flash of movement caught her eye. She froze, her eyes locking with Mewtwo's as he watched her pass from the entrance to his room. Something in his expression seemed different today, as though he was looking through her instead of at her. No, not through her. It was like he was trying to see inside her. Eve cleared her throat. "_Um... good afternoon?_"

He didn't return the greeting, and Eve almost flinched backwards when it looked like his eyes narrowed slightly. "_If you must go outside today, avoid going too near the edge of the cliffs. The center of the clearing is too open; stay on the edges, where the trees will hide you._" Eve nodded silently, and he continued. "_I am placing the child in your care. See to it that she does not wander far; it can be dangerous this deep in the forest._" Eve nodded again, wishing he would look away or blink or something. Finally, Mewtwo turned. "_You should go now, before the child hurts herself._"

She didn't know whether to be angry or scared when he walked back into his chamber. Turning, she hurried for the entrance and found the vines already swept aside and Ellie on the surface. Eve blinked at the first rays of sun in her eyes as she stepped up out of the caves. It was too bright! "Hey! Over here!" She turned, shielding her eyes with one hand, and followed the human's voice to the edge of the clearing; evidently, Mew had had the same thought Mewtwo had. It only took a few long strides to reach the shade of the trees, where she could lower her hand. Ellie beamed and reached for one of the cups, not seeming to mind that Mew already had her head in the milk can. "What took you so long?"

"_Mewtwo wanted to talk,_" Eve muttered, causing Mew's head to snap upwards out of the canister.

"What did he say?" The tiny cat's eyes were wide. Eve blinked.

"_He said we needed to avoid the center of the clearing, but that we shouldn't go too far into the forest, either. He said it's dangerous for Ellie this far out._"

Mew's shoulders relaxed visibly. "I could have told you that," the kitten mewled. Ellie took that moment to try dipping her cup in the milk can. The little legend's body tensed as the child's arm passed under her nose, but she seemed willing to share. "_Don't drink too much,_" Mew cautioned telepathically. "_I'll go find you guys some fruit. Children can't live on milk._" Ellie nodded eagerly as Mew rose up off the edge of the can, nodding at Eve once before shooting into the trees. The human girl giggled.

"Mew is nice!"

Eve nodded as she settled down to sit beside the can, scooping up a mug full of the thick milk. "_Mew can be nice when she wants to be. She's usually pretty good around me, anyway. I think she likes being a big sister._"

"What about Mewtwo?" Ellie looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. Eve took a long drink to stall for time before answering.

"_I don't think he's used to me yet,_" she said finally. "_Mew once said that she didn't stop in to see him very often on his own. I think he kind of prefers being by himself, so we don't talk much except when I'm training._" She swirled the mug in her hands, watching the liquid slosh. In her mind she could still hear Mewtwo and Mew arguing about whether he should take her or not. "_We haven't known each other long..._"

"'Cause you're still little, right?" Ellie looked up at her. "You don't look so little to me. But you're still a kid like me, huh?"

"_I don't know how old I really am,_" Eve mumbled. "_I think I may have been asleep for a pretty long time. I woke up this big a few months ago. I've only been free for about two weeks now, remember?_"

"Ooh, right." The way the girl looked up at her made Eve wish desperately for a change of subject. Eve frowned, grasping for an idea, anything would do... the clone's eyes lit up. Inspiration!

"_Hey, Ellie, you know that book you've got? Can I see it?_"

The human blinked twice. "My book? How come?"

"_I want to see some of the stories. I'm still too young, my brothers haven't had time to teach me the legends yet._"

The human's whole face seemed to brighten. "I have a better idea," Ellie said eagerly. "How about I read the stories to you?" It was not the reaction Eve had been expecting. She shrugged.

"_I guess that works, too. What kind of story do we start with?_"

"We start with the First Lives and the Creation of the World! Where else do you start a book but the beginning?" Ellie reached into her bag, pulling out the old volume. "That's the very first chapter, too."

"_First chapters are always a good place to start._" Eve looked around just as something plinked down on her hair and bounced off. The clone looked up just as Mew dropped another Cheri on her head. Anti was hovering beside the kitten as she drifted down, carrying, of all things, a plastic grocery bag. Ellie stared at the phantom; Eve stared at the bag.

"_Where on earth did you get that?_"

"_Filched it from the local Pokémon mart. It seemed convenient._"

"Is that a Mew, also?" Ellie's voice was high. "You didn't tell me you knew two of them, Eve!" The child frowned. "How come I can see through that one?"

"_Technically, Anti's... um..._" Eve frowned. How to say this tactfully.

"_He's more of a ghost than an actual Pokémon_." Mew set the bag between them, and Eve saw that it was loaded with Pechas, Cheris, and even a few of the Leppas she'd liked so much when she'd left the lab. "_Anti here is a phantom. Think of him as being a little like a guardian angel._" Mew nosed an apple out of the depths of the bag and rolled it over to Ellie. Ellie fumbled to pick it up, her eyes glued on Anti.

"Wow..."

Anti settled to the grass next to Eve. It creeped her out the way the grass poked up through his feet. He grinned up at her. "So! I hear Ryuu paid you guys a visit!"

"_Yes, and I'm the one who had to put up with Mewtwo afterwards. Please don't let him do that again._" Eve reached for a Leppa berry. "_So, can you read the book?_"

"_Ooh, story time,_" Anti cheered telepathically as Ellie nodded and flipped the tome open. "_Which one do we get to hear first?_"

"The First Lives and the Creation of the World," the little girl read aloud before looking up at Eve. "This is the story about how the universe and all the Pokémon were made!"

"_Is this the one about that Arceus thing you were telling me about?_"

"That's the one!" Ellie beamed as she bent over the page. "And no arguing this time, either! The story goes how the book says it does!"

"_Whatever,_" Eve mumbled as she peeled the skin off the Leppa to get at the fleshy fruit below. Mew gave her a steady wink as the child began to read.

"In the beginning, there was Arceus." Ellie's voice was calmer than usual, more sedate as she read what to her was a sacred tale. "Born in the void between existence and non-existence, this greatest of all Pokémon, the First Life, walked the broad expanses of the Abyss before the universe ever existed. No one could ever say how long Arceus roamed alone, for it was a time before time, when a minute was as an hour was as a day."

"_Yeah, that still sounds fishy to me._"

"You hush," Anti said with a grin. "We're getting to my favorite part." Eve stared at him. The story had only just started!

Ellie ignored the chatter. "Eventually Arceus became tired of the Abyss, and began to seek for things greater than what the darkness had to offer. But the Abyss was vast, and offered no comfort to the lone lord of all. And so Arceus began to create. He took the dust from the comets and the light of the suns not yet born, and he molded them down into the Second Life, cunning and bright, and he called his creation Pokémon. This Second Life's sweet demeanor and joyful laughter pleased Arceus, and he gave her the name of Mew, and many special powers that only Mew would have, because she was his first creation and thereby his favorite."

"_So the first thing Arceus made was a Mew._"

"That's what the book says," the human child said with a nod.

"_He must have been really, really lonely._"

Mew flicked her tail. "_That's my ancestor you're talking about, kiddo, and yours too. Show some respect._"

Eve stared. "_You mean you're not the first Mew?_"

The kitten sighed and batted at a Pecha berry to test its ripeness. "_Nope, I'm not the first. I am a direct descendent of hers, though._"

"_All Mews are,_" Anti cut in, "_Now will you let the kid read?_"

"Thank you," Ellie said, scowling at the lot of them before her eyes fell back to the page before her. "And so Arceus watched over the Abyss with the company of his first creation, and the Abyss began to change, for wherever Mew went, life seemed to wish to follow. Mew was a terribly social creature, and was always speaking of the worlds she saw in her dreams and seeking to make them real, and Arceus soon began to see that this solitary companion was not meant for the darkness of nothing any more than he was."

"Amen to that," Anti crowed. Eve noted that he had reversed back to mewling. Ellie sighed and ignored him.

"And so Arceus took the fragile light of the shooting star's tail and the warmth of the glow of the unborn moons and created a Third Life. And this Third Life took the dreams Mew spoke of and the powers Arceus granted to her and made with them a garden. Arceus looked over the garden and was pleased with the work of the Third Life, upon whom he bestowed the name of Shaymin, and he bid Shaymin to watch over her garden, which was to be called Eden. And Shaymin nodded humbly and tended to the plants and the flowers as Mew danced in and out of the trees, basking in the new life. And Arceus saw his creations smile, and was pleased."

"_So the Garden of Eden was made by a Pokémon?_"

"Yep!" Ellie turned the page, but not before Eve noticed Anti glancing towards the caves, suddenly tense. She followed the phantom's gaze and was surprised to see Mewtwo standing in the entrance, listening as the child continued the tale. "But over time, as Shaymin's garden spread, it became apparent to Arceus that once again the Abyss was too small for his creations. Mew and Shaymin needed more space to let their powers grow, and so Arceus set about to creating two new beings from the shadows in between the stars and the sands that were scattered about Shaymin's gardens, and by these means the twins were born."

"_This was before the earth was made, right?_" Eve saw Mew twitch, her nose buried in the Pecha berry, as Ellie nodded. "_So how was there a garden?_"

Anti rapped her sharply with his tail as Ellie set the book down in her own lap. "I told you, it's a legend! It doesn't have to make sense!"

"_But that goes beyond not making sense,_" Eve retorted, watching from the corner of her eye as Mewtwo crossed the clearing, standing a short ways off from them to look down the cliffs. She could have sworn he was smirking slightly as he leaned against a tree. "_That's just weird. You can't have a garden in space._"

"But you can in heaven," Ellie said with an air of finality as she picked the book back up. Next to Eve, Anti started to choke.

"Heaven? Eve, where did you find this kid?"

The human child ignored him. "Anyway... Arceus looked to the first twin, curious and eager to grow, and he called him Palkia, and gave to Palkia power over space that he might make a universe for the creations of Mew and Shaymin to dwell in. And Arceus looked at the second twin, solid and steady, and he called him Dialga, and to Dialga he gave power over time that Dialga might move his twin's universe forward, and so the two could not exist without the other. And so he made the twins and their powers, with such an energy that the twins could not contain it, and something new was born as well. Arceus looked at this new something and laughed, and called it an egg, and let the egg rest in Shaymin's garden where it could hatch. Mew and Shaymin watched over the egg, eager for the amusement as Dialga and Palkia aided Arceus in building the universe around them-"

"_Around them? As in they just sat there and..._"

"Yes, as in they just sat there and! Stop asking questions!" The human sounded clearly frustrated. Eve couldn't resist.

"_So how is watching an egg amusing?_"

It was worth the red berry that pelted her in the forehead as Ellie glowered at her before starting the sentence over again. "Mew and Shaymin watched over the egg, eager for the amusement as Dialga and Palkia aided Arceus in building the universe around them, and when the egg hatched they took the new lives to Arceus. Arceus was pleased to see these brand new lives, and to each he gave a name and a power, just as he had those he created himself. The first of the beings he named Uxie, and to Uxie he gave the power of knowledge, so that she would teach the lives to come."

"_Knowledge is a female,_" Eve repeated.

"Yes, knowledge is a female."

"_I just wanted to confirm that,_" Eve said as she glanced rather openly towards Mewtwo. Mew snickered and Anti outright laughed. Mewtwo ignored her, acting as though he couldn't hear any of them even though she just knew he was listening. Ellie just rolled her eyes.

"The second being he named Mesprit, and to him Arceus granted the power of emotion, that he might teach new beings to feel. And the third being Arceus called Azelf, and to Azelf he gave the power of will, that he might teach the new lives to think for themselves and made decisions by their own hearts. And the new lives laughed and played with Shaymin and Mew as Dialga and Palkia finished the universe around them, and right in the heart of it did Arceus create the Earth."

"_Just like that._"

"Yes, just like that. Care to question it?" The child almost sounded like she was making a threat. Eve hid a smile behind her mug. It didn't make any sense at all, but wasn't she giving the child enough grief?

"_Nope. Keep reading._"

"Thank you." Ellie took a moment to find her spot. "Arceus let the smaller of the Pokémon play on Earth then. Uxie and Azelf and Mesprit were all pleased to have room to roam in, and Mew was happy with so much space, but Shaymin seemed sad. Arceus asked why, and in a timid voice Shaymin said that although the Earth was nice, it was far too barren to make a garden out of. Arceus laughed, both at the meekness of the tiny Third Life and his own short sight, and set about creating three new lives to set things right."

"_So in other words Arceus goofed?_" Eve tilted her head, amused as Ellie threw her apple, now nothing more than a core, and narrowly missed the clone's shoulder with it. The Cheri that Mew threw at her hit, though, right below her eye. "_Ow..._"

"_Shut up and listen to the story,_" the kitten snapped. "_You can make fun of it after you know better yourself._"

"_He did, though,_" Eve muttered as the child continued.

"First he took the wind rushing through Eden and shaped it into a writhing current and gave it life. This life he called Rayquaza, and Rayquaza took his first great breaths and made air to make the planet livable. And then, seeing that there was no place for Shaymin to work her magic on Earth, Arceus took the soils from the garden and made Groudon, and his footsteps caused great mountains to arise in the wastes, dark and fertile. But the flowers could not grow on a dry planet, and so Arceus took the dew that appeared on the flowers in the morning in the garden."

"_How-_"

"It's a legend!"

"_Okay, okay. Sheesh._"

Ellie read on as she turned the page. "And so Arceus took the dew that appeared on the flowers in the morning in the garden. This he shaped into the great sea beast Kyogre, and when Kyogre settled onto the barren land she called the rains down from the heavens, flooding the earth and creating the seas. Groudon used the water to make even more fertile soil, scooping out the sea floors so that there would be still more places for Shaymin to make life grow. And Arceus saw a balance of sorts was struck, and was pleased with their work."

"_It doesn't take much to make Arceus happy, does it?_" This time Eve found herself hit in the arm with a rock bunged at her by Anti. She smirked, again hiding it behind her mug as Ellie ignored her.

"But Groudon's actions soon made Kyogre bitter, for why had she been called to set the seas down if Groudon would simply eat them up with his land. And Groudon became restless as well, always with the endless oceans slipping into his territory. The first lives saw the first great battle then as the two began to argue, each demanding more territory than the other. Their fighting made the smaller lives flee to the other side of the world as Palkia and Dialga looked on, too large to stop the fighting without damaging the planet. Arceus was not pleased to see his creations bickering, and so sent Rayquaza to calm his brother and sister. Rayquaza assuaged the battling titans, banishing Kyogre to the depths of the sea and Groudon into the heart of the land until they could learn to get along, and there they sleep to this day."

"Boy, don't I wish," Mew muttered. Ellie turned to stare at the kitten. "_Sorry. Just reflecting on the last time I had to deal with Groudon._" Over by his tree, Mewtwo almost seemed to wince. Ellie stared.

"Do all the legends know each other?"

"_Mostly. There are a few that keep to them selves, though. Then again, there are a few that really should keep to them selves that don't. On with the story._"

The human nodded. "It was then that Arceus found himself with a new problem. The land and sea were formed, yes, but the land was all stuck together and the sea took up too wide a space at once. If things were left as they were, the weather would become wild, and nothing would grow. Mew and Shaymin were growing restless, and so Arceus created the first of the golems, Regigigas. Regigigas set about breaking the earth into smaller pieces, towing the larger ones into place. But the job was far too large for one Pokémon, and Regigigas tired often. And so Arceus made also Regirock, Registeel, and Regice. The three new golems helped Regigigas make the continents and drag them into place, breaking the vast expanse of water into the seas and oceans and helping to stabilize the world."

"_How did they pull the earth?_" Eve ignored Anti as he hurled another tiny rock at her- or was this the same one? Ellie frowned.

"They did it with ropes, of course, what else would they use?"

"_Where did they get the ropes?_" This time Eve watched the rock. It was definitely the same one. She winced. That spot on her arm was starting to get sore.

Ellie actually seemed to think about it for a moment before she caught herself. "It's a legend," the human repeated defiantly. "Now be quiet so I can read!" The clone shrugged, hiding her smirk a little too late as she raised her mug. The human glared at her before continuing with the story. "And so Shaymin began to spread the green, living things, and soon Arceus saw that more changes would need to be made, because if everything grew and nothing ever died, where would the new plants go? And so he made three great, shining birds. First he made Articuno, who ushered in the winter. Shaymin was sad to see so many plants wither away, but Arceus assured her that all would be well, and made Moltres to follow Articuno. Moltres melted the snows, and spring was born. But if spring lasted forever, than the problem fell right back to where it had been before. And so Arceus made Zapdos, who's electricity pounded the thunder out of the sky, and the storms of summer cooled the lands and made way for fall, preparing the world for Articuno once more. And so the seasons were set, with Dialga ushering the birds to act at the proper moments, and time began to flow forward in earnest."

"_So three birds control the seasons?_"

"_They're not nearly as powerful today,_" Mew assured her quickly. "_Once the seasons stabilized on their own, Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres weren't really so needed any more and the power faded with the generations. I would hate to meet the original three, though._"

This time it was Ellie who couldn't contain her curiosity. "So there's more than one of everything, then?"

"_Oh, gosh, no. Only certain species ever multiplied among the legends. Look at Arceus himself. Believe me, there's only ever been one of him._" Mew shrugged. "_We can get into that later, though. What comes next?_"

Ellie turned her eyes back to the page before her. " Finally, the earth seemed ready. Eager to see her dreams become real just as Shaymin had, Mew set about gathering this and that, taking leaves from the trees and soils from the earth, waters from the seas and winds from the sky, and she started to make the creatures of her dreams just as she had been made by Arceus. Arceus was pleased to see the world becoming so full of life, and helped Mew name each new Pokémon. The Pokémon spread far and wide over the earth, so much so that Mew could not watch over all of her creations. Indeed, the world was so large that Arceus decided it needed new guardians all of it's own, and so he made two more great shining birds- the fast-swimming Lugia and the brilliant-winged Ho-oh- to help sort things out."

That seemed like long enough that Eve could chance another interruption. "_What was Lugia again?_"

"I borrowed it's form in the Sevii, remember?" Mew nudged another Leppa berry at her, not bothering with telepathy this time. "Eat up."

Across from her, the human girl waited until her mouth was full before she started to read again. "Lugia raced through the seas, both under and above the water, leaving the great ocean currents in his wake. Ho-oh soared over the mountaintops, calling forth the rainbows at the end of the storm to re-assure the Pokémon below."

"_Rainbows are made by a Pokémon?_"

Ellie nodded. "Ho-oh's feathers shine in all the colors of the rainbow, and when he flies they leave a trail behind him."

"_Wouldn't that mean people could see him, I don't know, almost every time it rained, then?_" Ellie stared at Eve, looking ready to slam the book shut in frustration. Mew scowled and turned on Mewtwo.

"_This is all your fault!_"

The larger clone glanced over as though seeing them for the first time. "_I beg your pardon?_"

"_This is all your fault,_" Mew repeated.

For a moment Eve thought she saw the corners of Mewtwo's mouth twitch. "_And how do you figure that, exactly?_"

"_I figure that because there is no way she learned this sort of annoying behavior from me! She gets it from you, questioning everything in the story is just your style!_"

Eve could have sworn Mewtwo actually looked amused. "_So what you are suggesting is that she is acting like me because she is finally showing some signs of common sense?_"

Mew stared at him for several long seconds before turning back to Ellie. "_I just had to get that off my chest. Come on, what happened next?_"

The child stared at the kitten before sighing and continuing with the story. "The earth was bustling with life then, and it was not long before Arceus noted a problem- the Pokémon Mew created were not eternally young like his own creations were. Her creations grew old, eventually becoming so feeble that they could not take care of themselves any more. Arceus decided that it would be necessary for the old Pokémon to die so that they might be eased of their suffering, and so he created Giratina to guide them to the world on the other side of the abyss, where their souls could rest. Mew was sad to see her creations die, but Arceus assured her that they would be well and young again in the afterlife, and that there was no reason to cry. And Mew nodded, and smiled when she saw the children of the Pokémon who had died living on, and Arceus was pleased with the world his creations had made."

"_I'm starting to get the impression that Mew is really important in this story,_" Eve muttered. Both the living and phantom kittens glared at her. Mewtwo snorted. Ellie just ignored them all.

"And so the earth moved on, the cycle of life and death repeating itself in a never-ending dance. Over time the balance of space and time began to overwhelm Palkia and Dialga, and they beseeched Arceus to grant them help, and so two new life forms were made. The first was Celebi, made from moonlight and the grasses that grew by the river, and Arceus took Celebi and gave him a little of the power granted to Dialga, the power to travel through time. The second was Jirachi, made from starlight and the honey from the bee's hives, and Arceus took Jirachi and gave him-"

"_Jirachi's a girl._"

Ellie blinked. "Huh?"

"_Jirachi's a girl,_" Eve repeated. "_Or at least the one I saw was._"

The girl gave her an accusing scowl. "Just how many Legendaries have you seen?"

"_I have no idea,_" Eve said honestly, "_But I think that was it._" Ellie sighed.

"If I wasn't almost done I'd just stop now," Eve heard the human mutter before she continued reading. "The second was Jirachi, made from starlight and the honey from the bee's hives, and Arceus took Jirachi and gave _him_ just a little bit of the power granted to Palkia, the power to bend space." Mew's left ear twitched at the emphasis on 'him' as the child repeated herself. Eve didn't want to ask why. "Dialga and Palkia were happy with their new assistants, Pokémon who would help them balance the world just as Mew and Shaymin had helped Arceus create it, and they set about teaching them all that they would need to know."

"_So Jirachi works for Palkia, Celebi works for Dialga, and Shaymin and Mew kinda work for Arceus?_"

"_Aww,_" Anti cooed, "_How cute. She figured that out all by herself._" Eve threw the skin from her Leppa berry at him. It passed right through. Ellie pretended she didn't hear them.

"Dialga and Palkia spent much time with their new aides, just as Arceus had walked with Mew and Shaymin. This sparked jealousy in the heart of Giratina, who worked alone as he ferried the spirits of the departed to the other side. Giratina was too proud to ask Arceus for help, and so he decided to try to create something himself." Anti coughed suddenly, glancing over at Mew as he did so. Ellie blinked, but kept reading when the phantom didn't actually speak. "He took what materials he could find in his dark world and put them all together into one form, and he called his creation Darkrai. But Darkrai was wild and untamable, and soon fell out of Giratina's control." Anti coughed again, still not actually commenting. Ellie pushed on. "The rogue beast started trapping the normal Pokémon in their own nightmares, rendering them helpless. In response, Arceus made one more Pokémon out of the light of the crescent moon. He named her Cresselia, and granted to her a very special power- the power to cure the seemingly endless darkness. The feathers of the glittering Pokémon of light assuaged the victims of Darkrai's nightmare paralysis, restoring peace to the creations of Mew. Once Darkrai's powers were broken, Arceus sealed him away, never to harm another soul." There was a third cough, this time from Mew herself. Ellie frowned as she finished the story. "And so the world finally fell into a balance, and so it has been to this day..." The human child closed the book and looked up at Eve with hopeful eyes. "You've gotta admit they still sound cool, even when it doesn't make sense!"

"Maybe," Eve muttered. Personally, she thought the whole 'not making sense' part took away from the rest of the story...

"_So,_" Anti said suddenly. "_Are you going to pick it apart or shall I?_"

Mew raised her nose from a Pecha berry. "_You go ahead, I'm eating._"

"_I was hoping you'd say that._" The phantom grinned. "_Okay, kid. What you've got there is a nice little book, and for the most part it does an all right job with the first major legend. But there are a few glaring mistakes in it. So I'm gonna give you... and Eve... a little crash course._"

Ellie's eyes went wide. "The book is wrong?"

"_Only in a few places,_" Anti assured her quickly. "_First off- the whole thing with "Arceus took this and that and made so-and-so." Not only is that completely stupid, but it was really poorly presented in your story. Arceus doesn't need ingredients to make things; if he wants them, they're there. And even if he did use raw materials they wouldn't be anything as stupid as moonlight or morning dew._" Ellie nodded, and Eve almost laughed as she pulled a paper tablet and a pencil from her bag and started taking notes. Anti raised an eyebrow, but kept talking. "_Second, the Garden of Eden and heaven. They're two different things, kid. I've been to the afterlife. It's not the Garden of Eden. 'Nuff said._" Ellie nodded, frowning slightly. "_Third, Shaymin has no discernable gender. At least from what I've heard, it doesn't. Granted, my source was drunk at the time, and I usually don't trust him on a good day anyway, but he swore on it pretty seriously._"

"Who was your source," Ellie asked with a tilt of her head. Eve noticed Mew eyeing her bobbing curls speculatively. Anti shrugged.

"_Kid, you don't want to know. Okay, next point._" The kitten hemmed for a minute. "_Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres. Great powers in the story, ushered in the new seasons. Only their kinds don't do that any more. Their job was mainly to get things started in the beginning, and now that the world works on it's own the current set mainly just sticks to itself. Be thankful; they're all annoying gits_." Mew shot him a glance. "_Well, okay, maybe Zapdos is okay. But he's the only one. Next up!_" Ellie was still scribbling frantically as Anti went on. "_Groudon and Kyogre. I'm going to call the book lucky that it even got their genders right, because it seemed to fudge a few other things pretty well. For example, their current whereabouts. Believe me, kid, they aren't sleeping right now. Kyogre has actually been awake and active for as long as I can remember, and she's pretty agreeable as long as she gets enough to eat. Takes a lot to feed her, I'm telling you. Groudon, on the other hand... Well, he keeps waking up every one or two hundred years, sometimes more often than that, even, and every time it happens it's a chore for someone. You can't work with him. The best anyone can ever hope to do is seal him away again before he causes too much trouble._"

"_That's not totally fair. He's proven useful a few times,_" Mew argued.

Anti shrugged. "_Sure, if all you're really needing is muscle. I can think of two times he's helped me, and it was an accident both times._"

"_Groudon is a fool,_" Mewtwo cut in suddenly. "_He is stubborn and unreasonable._"

"_Sounds like someone else we all know,_" Eve mumbled, making Mew giggle. Mewtwo glared at her. Ellie stopped writing, staring at the larger clone.

"You've met Groudon?"

"_I have met many of the Pokémon of legend. I have found most of them to be disagreeable, and would rather not speak of it._"

"_They only didn't like him because he's just as bad as they are in the ego department,_" Mew mock-whispered. "_Legendaries are notorious prats._"

Ellie frowned. "I think you're nice..."

"_Where was I again?_" Anti crossed his eyes. Eve laughed.

"_You were making points about Groudon. And I think you skipped Regice, Registeel, Regigigas, and... um..._" Eve frowned. What was the last one again? There just had to be something off with their part of the story.

"_Oh, right. Groudon. Annoying git. You don't want to meet him. Next would be the Regis, then. They were useful in the beginning, yes, but they didn't move the continents so much as they just kind of re-arranged them a little bit. The whole rope thing is just absurd. The fact of the matter was they were a whole lot bigger then than they are now, and they could sort of stomp things into place if they needed to. If you could get them to work, anyway. Not the brightest things, the Regis. Strong, though. Very, very strong. Never, ever try to trip Registeel, not even now that he's smaller. You will get hurt._" Mew winced; apparently it was a shared memory between the two of them.

"Ah, to be young and a moron again," the kitten mewled dryly.

"_How about just to be young, you're still a moron. Okay, who's next on the list..._"

"_I knew the rope thing was stupid._" Eve nodded, satisfied to have been right. Anti chucked the rock at her again.

"_You hush. Lugia and Ho-oh, I think. Hmm, I'd have to read their chapters in the book to see just how badly bunged they are. Ho-oh doesn't make all the rainbows, where would he find the time? He can find ways of producing one when he wants to, though. Never figured out how he did that. Mainly an okay guy, although he has some very set ideas about what is true to the world and what is not. Very picky, Ho-oh._" Eve could have sworn Mewtwo flinched at that. "_Lugia, he's better than most, but he can also be exceptionally picky. Also, I would recommend not standing anywhere in the vicinity when he's taking off, especially not right next to his wing tips when he stretches them out. It is not a safe place to be._"

"Okay." Ellie nodded her head seriously. Mew couldn't seem to resist the temptation; she reached up and batted at the child's curls. Hadn't she done the same thing with the girl Angie? Ellie laughed and reached over, pulling the kitten into her lap. Mew looked startled for a moment, but settled in as Anti went on.

"_Now, as for Celebi and Jirachi... well... we won't go into Celebi, but I can say beyond certainty that Jirachi is female, and while she doesn't typically do the whole bending space thing she is more than capable of dropping a meteor on someone's head. She only ever does that if they really, really deserve it, though. Other than that, she's usually a very sweet girl._" Mew was staring at him as though she weren't sure if he was thinking of the right Pokémon. Eve decided not to ask; Anti's lesson was already far more interesting than the storybook had been... although she rather had liked that, too...

"_And that brings me to the point that the book got dead wrong. Literally._" The phantom's tail twitched. "_That little storybook of yours has Giratina's motives all wrong. He was never jealous of Dialga and Palkia. He was mad that he got the crappy job. Giratina resented the fact that everyone was busy creating new things and preserving life on the planet... except for him. And, as moody youths often do, he decided to have a bit of a rebellious phase._" Anti glanced very obviously over at Mewtwo. Mewtwo ignored him. "_When Arceus tried to tell him into his place, he got mad and decided to prove that he, too, could build life. Only problem was, the life he built was Darkrai. The book had that much right, at least. In the end, though, he kind of figured out where he screwed up, and now he's actually a pretty decent guy. Well..._" the see-through kitten hesitated. "_Usually he's a decent guy... until you try to play Poker with him. And ooh, man, you never want to owe him money..._"

"The Legendaries use money?"

"_Well, yeah, what else are we going to play Poker with? I'm telling you, if you ever play Poker with Giratina and loose, pay up fast. If you owe him money and then you win at next week's game, he won't give you a single cent until you've paid him back. There is no breaking even with that guy._"

Eve stared. "_You owe him money, don't you._"

"_Ooh, yeah._" The phantom grinned. "_In that respect, never, ever bet against Lugia, either. The guy has this uncanny knack for predicting things..._"

"_Are there other legends that aren't in that story?_"

Anti nodded, as did Ellie. "_There are several of them, actually. But we can talk about that some other time, okay, kiddo? I need a break now._" Eve nodded, reaching for a Pecha berry. The phantom Mew grinned. "_You know, we should do this more often. It's kind of fun._"

It wasn't until later that Eve took the time to wonder at how unusually quiet Mew had been throughout the whole thing...


	41. Casual Lessons and Revised Plans

Eh, my appologies for the late chapter, but I have an excuse! I recently wrote two new one-shots that wouldn't go away until they were put up to post. Aheh. Anyway, got another new chapter today, and before I get into it, I want to point something out.

I absolutely hate what they did to Mewtwo when they introduced shining Pokemon.

The fact that I managed to make fun of it within the realms of reasonability amazes me...

Anyway, this chapter starts our lessons in Legendaries, starting with everyone's favorite pink gravity-defying gender-beding sugarmilk-guzzling kitten! So let's go!

* * *

MEW

New Species Pokemon

Height: 1 foot, 4 inches

Weight: 8.8 Lbs.

Considered by many to be the ancestor of all Pokemon due to it's unique genetic coding and unusual ability to learn any move, Mew is so rare that most experts consider it to be nothing more than a mirage. Highly intelligent, Mew can make itself invisible at will to avoid detection. As such, very few people have seen it worldwide...

* * *

Somehow, this situation actually seemed to be working in his favor.

Mewtwo stared quietly out over the forest, watching the twinkling lights of the city beyond. From the corner of his eye, he could just see Evetwo and the human child as they sat and talked to Mew. The psychic legend, much to his surprise, seemed more than happy to lie in the girl-child's lap and be cuddled. Then again, Mew was more physical than he was, to the point that more than once he had watched as the kitten leaned up and nuzzled Evetwo affectionately on the cheek. Frowning, the clone watched as more lights blinked on in the far-off city. He had never been fond of physical contact, and it seemed foolish to him that Mew should accept it so readily. But then, the kitten was lonesome...

Although it fell against his own usual ways, Mewtwo had read the girl's mind when she had been asleep. Her outlook on life was naïve, her mission laughable, neither to be taken seriously... but her desire to share her experiences with the world was downright threatening. Her home, Pallet Town, was far enough away that it would be safe to keep her as an amusement for Evetwo for a while- but after that, her memory had to be erased. There could be no books or stories from this child when she rejoined human civilization, not about them. It would not do to try to make Evetwo see the threat, either; he had to do this on his own. He would have to let her keep the girl without letting on to Evetwo that he planned any mental 'harm' to her. It would mean lying to the female even more than he already was.

And, truth be told, Mewtwo did not like having to lie.

He shifted, suddenly uncomfortable, and glanced around the clearing discreetly. The three females had not moved, but the Antimew was perched on a tree branch, watching him intently. For someone who was completely transparent, the phantom had an eerily aware gleam in his eye. Mewtwo shifted towards the apparition. "_Yes?_"

"I know that look," Anti said solemnly. "Mew isn't paying attention to you right now and Eve doesn't recognize it yet, but I know that look. You're thinking about something that's going to end up hurting someone, and you know it. You always get that look when you're trying to justify something."

Mewtwo let his gaze fall back to the city lights. "_It is not your business what I am thinking. If you would, take Evetwo and the child to a stream near here; they could both stand to be cleaned up. I am going to take a walk._"

Anti sighed. "Translation: 'I am going to look into Team Rocket's activity in this area. Keep Eve busy.' I get it. Be careful, okay?"

Mewtwo glanced over at him once before he walked away. "_I always am._"

* * *

The sun was still high in the sky. Eve sat under a tree, watching Ellie and Mew. The tiny psychic was more than happy to let the human girl rub her ears or scratch along her spine. Eve had tried flipping through Ellie's book, but the strange pictures had put her off that for a while. Whatever human had drawn them had an overactive imagination...

"You're awfully quiet," Mew said suddenly. Eve blinked.

"_Sorry, I was just thinking about a few things._"

Mew rested her head on Ellie's arm, looking over at Eve curiously. "That's not normal. You're not the thinky one, Eve. What kind of things?"

"_Well..._" Eve frowned, studying the kitten. How much did she actually know about Mew? Almost nothing, she realized. "_Well, what exactly are you, anyway?_"

The kitten beamed. "Baby sister is finally curious about her roots! I'm so happy!"

The clone scowled. "_Mew, I'm serious. You've never told me anything about your kind or even about your self. I want to know!_"

"I know, I know..." Mew's expression mellowed as she switched to telepathy. "_Ellie, I take it you'd like to hear, too?_"

"Yes, please!"

"Okay..." The kitten adjusted how she was sitting, settling into the girl's lap. "_What do you guys want to hear first?_"

Eve wasn't even sure what the words Ellie started spouting out were, she spoke so fast. Mew stared up at her, just as stunned. "_Kid, slow down before you hurt yourself._"

The child settled for blurting out almost the exact same question Eve had asked. "What is a Mew, anyway?"

"_Well, let's see..._" Mew scratched the back of her head thoughtfully. "_The Mew race is pretty much as old as it gets. No one can really say how long we've been around, probably since the beginning, just like the legend says. A Mew can learn any move or master any technique, makes us hell in battle... us... me... something like that..._" The kitten trailed off for a moment. "_See... I'm the only Mew left._"

Eve blinked. Mew had the same strange look she'd had the night before, when she'd called Eve a good girl. She looked... lost. "_Mew... how?_"

"_It was a war of sorts._" The kitten's tail flicked as Ellie hugged her suddenly. "_You guys don't need to hear about it now. I'll tell you some other time. Anyway, over time the Mew lines were distinguished by our ability to do just about anything and our ability to..._" Mew paused, her eyes crossing as the human girl scratched her ears. "_I guess the best words for it would be we can distort reality._"

"You distort reality every time you look in a mirror." Eve jumped. How and when did Anti decide to sit on her tail?

"And you distort it just by being here," Mew jabbed back.

"What do you mean by distorting reality?" Eve blinked, reminding herself that Ellie couldn't understand what was being said unless Mew and Anti used telepathy. It was probably better that way...

"_We-ell..._" Mew flicked an ear. "_Look at Jirachi. She lives on the moon, interacts with others when she sleeps, and can drop a meteor on your head when she gets mad enough. She can also completely warp the space around her, or even things a bit farther from home, if she wants to. Me, I can't drop meteors on people's heads, mainly because I never figured out where she gets the things in the first place, and I'm not exactly able to warp something on the other side of the world, but I can definitely mess with the stuff around me._"

"_Like, say we need to camouflage Eve,_" Anti cut in suddenly. "_Fuscia sticks out so badly in a forest setting, you know? So we could turn you green!_"

Ellie was the first to break the resounding silence that followed. "That would look... bad."

"_That would look terrible,_" Eve groaned. "_Green?_"

"_Like maybe a nice forest green. Or neon, good for parties. Of course, that would defeat the whole purpose of camouflage._" Anti was grinning. Eve glared at him.

"_You. Off my tail. Now._"

"_Aw, but it's so comfy._"

"_Neon green? You would turn me neon green?!_"

"_Okay, maybe not you._" Anti smirked, and Eve was thankful his pointy little teeth were transparent. "_How about Mewtwo, then?_"

Eve shook her head, trying to get rid of the mental image. If she thought of that the next time Mewtwo was around, it would be impossible to keep a straight face. Mew wrinkled her nose at Anti. "_Stop. Stop thinking before you scar the children for life._"

"_Aw, you're no fun at all._"

Ellie turned and looked up at Eve. She looked like she was going to whine even before she opened her mouth. "Is he always like this?"

Eve thought back to the Sevii Islands. "_Yes,_" she said flatly. "_Always._"

Anti puffed up his chest, making a show of looking offended. "_How dare you! I'm not this bad, I'm worse!_"

"_Not in front of the kids, you're not._" Mew shook her head. "_Anyway, a Mew can distort or alter the things around it, and it's not limited to something's color, either. We can shift the people, Pokémon, objects, or even parts of the landscape._" Eve blinked. Wasn't that what Mewtwo did?

Ellie seemed more interested in the changing people part. "What can you distort on a human?"

"_Lots of little things. No, I'm not going to demonstrate, don't even ask._" Ellie frowned. Mew shrugged. "_Changing a living creature even a tiny bit takes a lot of energy, kid. Heck, even warping something inorganic takes work, a lot of it. Just because it can be done doesn't mean it's easy._"

Ellie nodded, considering what Mew had just said, and Eve remembered how Mewtwo had disappeared to sleep immediately after making the new cave. How much energy had that taken for him? No wonder he'd been such a grouch when he woke up...

"Can Mews really turn invisible," Ellie asked.

The kitten giggled softly. "_If you're asking, can one be right there and not be seen, the answer is yes. Only ghost types can turn invisible to the point that you could photograph one and not get it in the picture..._"

"_Or phantoms,_" Anti cut in.

"_Yeah, yeah, or phantoms. Anyway, what a Mew can do is this._" Right before their eyes, Mew began to glow pink, then vanished almost completely. Eve frowned. There was still a hazy patch in Ellie's lap.

"_Looks kind of iffy to me._"

"_That's because you're strong enough that the illusion isn't fully effective against you. It doesn't work at all on your brother._" Eve winced. It wouldn't...

"Well, it works on me!" Ellie's eyes were wide. "I can feel you, but I can't see you at all!"

"_That's the idea. This used to be a really useful trick, but now that humans have cameras everywhere it's safer to just transform. If you were to take a picture right now... young lady, don't you dare reach for that bag... I'd show up bright and clear._"

Ellie seemed disappointed as she withdrew the fingers that had been inching towards the nearest strap. "You can use transform? My brother said that there was only one Pokémon that could do that."

Eve sat up a bit as Mew re-appeared. That was the technique she wanted to learn! "_A Mew can do almost anything, remember? Transform is one of my favorite techniques because unlike a Ditto, I don't have to be right next to something to turn into it. Watch._"

Hopping out of Ellie's lap, Mew began to glow again, and Eve decided to take a risk. If Mew wouldn't teach her the technique, she could always try to learn it like she did ice beam. She reached out, touching the kitten's mind just as the tiny body grew into a sleek Persian, then a small red fox, then some rotund yellow thing Eve didn't even recognize, and then finally Mew was Mew again. The kitten turned, flashing Eve a blue-eyed glare. "_What was that, young lady?!_"

"_I wondered what it felt like,_" Eve mumbled, the furs on the back of her neck standing on end. Her stomach was churning now. Mew scowled lightly at her.

"_My mind is off limits to you, kiddo. Keep out._"

"_Right._" Eve groaned softly. How did Mew handle multiple transformations like that? Just reading the kitten's mind during that had made Eve's stomach a wreck! Or had Mew done that deliberately when she realized she was being read?

"What do you use transform for, anyway?"

"_Mostly for causing trouble,_" Mew replied a little too earnestly. "_But also because it lets me interact with the world around me without showing my true form. It causes a lot of problems when the wrong people know I'm there, but I don't want to always have to hide, either._"

"Your true form is so cute, though!" Eve hid a smile behind one hand. Now that she was getting used to it, Ellie's honest, open manner was kind of cute in a little sister-ly way. The smile turned to a small frown. Had Kyle thought of Kathryn that way?

"_Actually,_" Mew said sheepishly, "_The first Mew didn't look like this at all._"

Eve blinked, beating Ellie to the question for once. "_They didn't? Then what did they look like?_"

"And how did they change?" Ellie frowned, not seeming to like the idea. Mew shifted, sharing a glance with Anti that Eve couldn't read.

"_That part's a secret,_" the kitten said coyly. Eve frowned. Ellie pouted.

"Can't you tell us just a little?"

The tiny psychic shook her head. "_I'm sorry, no can do. Not allowed to talk about it._"

"Aw..." Ellie pouted some more. Eve wondered if that worked when the child was at home, with other humans. She waited a moment, and sure enough Ellie bounced back and asked another question. "Where do you live?"

"_Wherever I want to,_" Mew said with a grin. "_Look at me, I'm living right here._"

"No, like where do you stay? Where's your home?"

"_You're not gonna try and send me stuff, are you? Because I really hate chain letters._"

"_Mew, answer the question before you drive Ellie completely insane._" The child already looked halfway there.

"_Fine, fine._" Mew sighed. "_I actually have several homes, scattered here and there. A few of them are hidden right in the middle of cities, some of them are out in the wilderness, I've even got a place or two underwater. Oh, and there's the tree, too._"

"_The tree?_" Eve asked, Ellie echoing her blankly. Mew nodded.

"_Yeah. They call it a tree, anyway. Really big place, it's like my summer home. I'll take you there someday, Eve._" Eve nodded. Mew rambled on. "_I once spent a full six months in the arctic. Had my own little stalker Piplup and everything. Man, I hated that penguin. Bugger followed me everywhere. Kind of miss the little guy now, though..._" Mew trailed off, her eyes unfocusing as though she was looking at something far away. Eve frowned. What on earth was...

"_Eve, you need a bath._"

The clone blinked. "_What?_"

"_You need a bath,_" Anti repeated. "_So does Ellie. Come on._" The phantom lifted up off of her tail. "_I'll show you guys where there's a river you can clean up in._"

As the four of them headed for the river, Eve could have sworn she heard Mew mumble a tiny 'thank you' to Anti.

* * *

This had to be done one of two ways- right or not at all.

Mewtwo glanced skywards, his features marred by a tiny frown. No good. It was still too light out to approach the base any further than he already had. Twilight seemed to be coming deliberately slow today, as though time was trying to taunt him as he waited for his chance to move. It had been easy for him to maneuver the thorny vines he was sitting in the middle of up and around him, forming a protective shell from which he could see, but not be seen. There had been few humans in the area when he had constructed the hide, but it seemed like more and more were passing on the road beside hi temporary shelter- and every last one of them appeared to be a Rocket. Mewtwo closed his eyes, making sure his energy signature was properly suppressed. Mew and the Antimew would see to it that Evetwo remained untraceable for now, but later he really did need to teach her to draw her own energy in.

Still, now was not the time to be thinking about the female's training. Mewtwo glanced towards the roadway as two more men passed, these ones brazen enough to wear the all-too-familiar black uniforms. He scanned the surfaces of their minds carefully, getting the same basic information from them that he had been getting from all of the others- Giovanni was not in Viridian City. These men did not know where he was, nor did they know when he would return. Mewtwo's frown deepened. His job would be far easier if he could wipe out Viridian, the core base, and Giovanni at the same time, but now it seemed he would have to settle for the base... and the gym. It would still be a harsh blow to Team Rocket, especially if he launched his next attack before the organization had recovered. Team Rocket was too large to fall from the destruction of Viridian alone, he knew, but it was still the best place to start. He would begin with the base itself, and then strike the gym while they were still rushing reinforcements to the base.

Three more Rockets were approaching now, talking amongst themselves. The black uniforms of the lackeys again; were there no ends to the scores of grunt workers? Mewtwo shifted almost imperceptibly in an effort to see all three clearly. "Still," a lanky brunette was saying, "It's a shame what happened to Jianna. The admins are saying they've as good as lost one of their best tamers."

Mewtwo listened idly as he checked the man closest to him. No, not man, boy. Just how early did these foul humans recruit their members? "Jianna?" the boy asked. "I've heard of her. Didn't she get in a boating accident?"

"That's what they want everyone to think," the lanky human said conspiratorially as Mewtwo decided that the boy knew nothing. "Thing is, I know what really did it."

"You always say you know everything, Gordon." The man in the middle stuffed his hands into his pockets. "So what did it now, that damned Absol of hers? Always knew that thing was bad luck..." Mewtwo paused his scanning, suddenly interested in the conversation. An Absol? The breed was rare in its home region, and completely foreign to this one as well. Could he mean...

"Oh, it was a Pokémon, all right. Wasn't the Absol, though they say that's gone missing, too." 'Gordon' stopped, dropping his voice so that the other men had to stop and lean in to listen. Mewtwo tensed as the man spoke again. "See, my buddy Jeremy was there when it happened. It was a Pokémon, yeah, a monster of one. Remember when they called Ji away from Pewter for that special project in Johto?"

"The one with all the crazy rumors around it, right?" The scruffy middle man snorted. "Don't believe any of them. You can't just build a Pokémon." The fine furs on the back of Mewtwo's neck prickled. _They were talking about Evetwo._

"I've got news for you, man, they did it. The thing got away, and they followed it to the Sevii. That's where it got Ji." Yes, they were definitely talking about Evetwo. Mewtwo remained still, keeping his mind to himself so that the man would talk freely. "Jeremy, he was all mad about it, see. They got this special team together, took 'em to this little island. 'Capture anything suspicious,' they were told. Everyone was pretty confused, none of the admins would tell them what they were after. They get there and boom! there's this thing, bigger than most of the men. Jeremy said they never had a chance. It had this attack, kept flattening everything around it, knocking out their Pokémon the minute they were out of the balls. They thought they wore it down a little, it just got backup somehow. They edge it to a cliff, the thing suddenly flies. Jeremy said they got a gun to the damn thing's head and it still didn't stop!"

"And that's the thing that got Jianna?" The kid looked scared. Mewtwo frowned. This did not sound so much like Evetwo anymore, especially not when 'Gordon' dropped his voice further.

"It didn't just get her, it went after her. Left it's buddies and followed her to her boat. Jeremy says to me they tried to go after it, but they couldn't get past it's buddies. Those things didn't care if they were attacking Pokémon or people, man, a bunch of our men got the scars to prove it. Anyway, this thing went after Jianna. Took down her Rhydon and Ninjask at the same time, and then it attacks her. Some of the guys, they saw it from the boats. Thing beat her ribs in, picked her up with it's mind and threw her in the water."

That did _not_ sound like Evetwo. Mewtwo narrowed his eyes. A Ninjask would certainly have been capable of doing the damage he had seen on her back, but she should not have had the skill to beat one on her own, much less in a two-on-one battle. This man had to be exaggerating. The Rocket kid looked nervous again. "You don't think they'd send us after that thing, do you?"

The chatty storyteller grinned. "You think that's bad, get this... the one that nailed Jianna isn't even the dangerous one. You should hear the stuff I've heard about the other one of these things. My buddy Andy, he was on another one of the bases in the Sevii..."

Mewtwo was not sure how much more of this he could stand to listen to. Subtly but firmly, he planted a suggestion in the young one's mind. The boy glanced around him, nearly stammering in his discomfort. "Can we get moving, please? It's going to be dark soon." The other men laughed, but finally they started walking again. 'Gordon' was still talking about the 'monster Pokémon' when the three Rocket's disappeared down the road.

Mewtwo let out a small huff of annoyance. This was not going to work in his favor. He had seen at least twenty other Rockets walk by in small groups; were they all spreading rumors as well? He did not need for himself and Evetwo to have a reputation among these faceless nobodies! The more of these men knew of their existences, the harder it would be to hide.

Unless he used that fear against them...

Mewtwo shifted his weight slightly and shoved the fledgling idea from his mind, looking up at the sky again. The great expanse was beginning to turn now, but it seemed he had other priorities to deal with. Concealing Evetwo was more important at this particular moment. Her relatively weak psychic signature was still strong in comparison to any wild Pokémon in the area; even something as weak as an Abra would sense it without himself or Mew to hide her, and hiding her was more vital than ever if Team Rocket's awareness had increased this much. Mewtwo clenched his jaw slightly. He needed to teach her to protect herself before he made them more of a threat to Team Rocket, and thus made Team Rocket more of a threat to them.

Unfortunately, that would mean actually working with her some more...

Drawing out of his hiding place, Mewtwo headed back to the cliffs.


	42. Harsh Training

Well, I finally got this chapter done! Sorry if it took some time, I got distracted by things. Like ebay. You can find so much cool Mewtwo stuff on ebay, did you know? Wow... Anyway! Aheh... Thanks to everyone who's reviewed Innocence and Rain so far, it's great to get the feedback! In this chapter, we get to see just what Mewtwo's new training for Eve consists of... and we finally get to see a crack in his unshakable facade. Also, we're continuing the explanations of Pokemon legends. Todays victims? Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres! Oh, and some cattle prod jokes... damn you Anti... In other words, this chapter kind of bounces a bit. So let's go!

* * *

Articuno, the Freeze Pokemon 

Height- 5'7" Weight- 122.1 lbs

The legendary bird of ice, Articuno is said to leave trails of snow when it flies. The original herald of winter, this magnificent bird dwells in snow-covered mountain ranges, and is known for appearing to lost travelers to guide them through blizzards.

Zapdos, the Electric Pokemon

Height- 5'3" Weight- 116 lbs

The legendary bird of thunder, Zapdos lives high up in thunder clouds. The original herald of autumn, Zapdos used it's electrical power to spark thunderstorms to bring the storms that end summer. It is often seen at the end of droughts, absorbing the energy in the lightening.

Moltres, the Flame Pokemon

Height- 6'7" Weight- 132.3 lbs

The legendary bird of fire, Moltres is believed to live deep in a volcano where it can heal itself in the magma. The original herald of spring, Moltres banished the winter ice so that the world could grow once more. It creates dazzling pyrotechnic displays by flapping it's wings.

* * *

This really wasn't working the way Eve had planned. The clone frowned, trying to figure out what she was doing wrong. Ellie had headed into the caves to sleep, taking Mew with her, but Eve had claimed that she wanted to watch the city lights just a little bit longer. What she really wanted, of course, was the privacy to try to use transform on her own. Unfortunately, all she seemed to be achieving was to give herself a headache.

Or maybe that was from the flowery shampoo Ellie had attacked her with.

Sighing, the psychic gave up and flopped over onto her back, staring up at the stars. There sure were a lot of them here. Not as many as had been in the Sevii, but more that had been in Goldenrod or Saffron. Maybe that was because she was still pretty far from the city. Cities ate the stars. Sighing softly to herself, Eve ran her tail back and forth through the long grasses. It felt kind of good. How did humans walk without tails, anyway? She couldn't remember. She honestly couldn't remember how that worked, walking without a tail to balance you. Maybe that was why Kathryn fell down so often. Humans needed tails...

"_What are you doing out here alone?_"

Had she been standing or sitting, Eve would have jumped. As it was, she settled for squealing lightly and rolling over onto her stomach to stare at Mewtwo. Where had he come from and how did he always do this? "_I've told you not to sneak up on me!_"

"_What would you have me do, call out to you ahead of time? You get so lost in whatever thoughts you are having that you probably would not hear me anyway. Your lack of awareness is your own fault, not mine. Now, what are you doing out here alone?_"

Eve scowled. Why was it that every time he did talk to her openly, it was to say something mean? "_I just didn't feel like going into the cave yet. It's too early still._"

He regarded her quietly for a moment. "_Fine, then. I suppose that is acceptable. I need you to come with me now, though. We have gotten rather lax in your training, and there are two things I must teach you._" He turned, motioning with his head for her to follow. "_This way._"

Eve scrambled to her feet, following along as Mewtwo led her into the trees. When he did stop, it was at a second clearing, one that Eve recognized- it was the one she had waited in while he had been preparing their new home. "_So what are we doing here?_"

"_There are two things I have to teach you before we work on anything else. They are things you did not need to know how to do in the Sevii, where we were isolated, but now that we are mere miles from the nearest human establishment they are important._" Eve blinked. Something that was important here, but not there? Mewtwo nodded over to a large, flat stone. "_You may sit down, if you would like. The important thing right now is your focus. You must learn to reign in your power so that other psychics cannot detect you, and to close your mind so that it cannot be read. I am sure these may seem like small things to you, but they are vital to our safety. You must put some effort into this._"

Eve settled onto the large stone. Had he ever been quite this talkative before? She frowned. "_So basically this is going to help me hide?_"

He nodded. "_It will help you conceal yourself, and to protect the things you know. If a psychic is powerful enough to access your thoughts and memories, the chances are good that they can manipulate them as well, even destroying them if they please. And..._" Mewtwo paused for a moment, as though not sure he should go on. His voice became quieter. "_And I am sure your memories are quite precious to you. You would not want someone to take that away._"

Eve stared up at him, stunned. Had he just... She nodded, her throat tightening. What did he know about her memories, anyway? Nothing... there was nothing he would ever want to know. Oh, but they were precious...

"_We will start with the mental barriers. Once you have learned that, it will be easier to contain your power. Close your eyes, it will be easier if you can block out any outside distractions._" Eve said nothing, shutting her eyes tight. The way things had been going as of late, it was probably better to just do as he said. There was a long silence before Mewtwo spoke again. "_What I am going to do is try to read your mind, starting with your most recent memories and working my way back. You must focus on building a wall to hold me out. I can tell you how this is done, but I cannot do it for you to show you this time. If you do not want me seeing anything important to you, I would suggest you learn to do this quickly._"

Eve nodded, silently willing herself to get this right quickly. There was plenty that she didn't want him to see...

* * *

She caught on faster than he had expected. Mewtwo looked down at the little female shaking quietly on her rock. Picking over the events of the past two days had been relatively easy; it was not until he began to dig out her memories of the Sevii that she had fought him in earnest. He had found one memory in particular that seemed to strike up a reaction, a particularly vicious battle with the whip-wielding tamer he now knew as Jianna. The moment he had started to pour over the memory Evetwo had cringed, and so he had pulled it from her subconscious not once but four times, until she managed to give the slightest push back. Only then had he let her mind take rest. 

Once she had seemed to be sufficiently recovered he had proceeded to push his way deeper into the events at the Sevii, finding several more points that drew out emotional responses. That was the key, Mewtwo knew, the thing he had to focus on. Bypass any of the good memories; hone in only on the ones that hurt. If Evetwo could fight him out despite the pain of her own experiences, she could block anything. At times the female seemed ready to start crying from the constant mental assault, but at last she managed to produce a fledgling barrier in her mind, a valiant effort to make it stop. It was not enough that it could have kept him out, but it was still stronger than Mewtwo had expected after only a few hours of training. He ceased his attack on her mind. After all, he needed some time to think about what he had seen.

It would appear that there were ways to force her strength out after all.

Panting slightly, the female opened her eyes and looked up at him. He could see the tears in her eyes ready to spill over, the pained expression on her face. That was only from the battle with Team Rocket at the Sevii. What would happen when he carried her mind back to before they met, when she was still in the laboratory? "_That was hard..._"

"_Over time, it will get easier. For now we must focus on it working at all._" Mewtwo looked down at her, keeping his expression passive. "_As I said, if you have any memories you do not wish for me to see, learn to hold me out before I get to them._"

The female winced, making a soft grumbling noise in her throat. He knew what she was thinking of; it was the same thing that so concerned him. Somewhere inside of Evetwo were her base memories, her _human_ memories. Mewtwo had no more desire to see those memories than she must have had to share them with him. As such, she had to learn this fast...

Her attention was starting to drift as she calmed down. Mewtwo watched quietly as the female's shaking subsided. "_You should rest now. Can you make it back to the cave on your own?_" She nodded once, but then shook her head. Mewtwo gritted his teeth. "_Which is it?_"

"_Forest all looks the same now,_" Evetwo mumbled sheepishly. Mewtwo sighed inwardly, turning towards the area where the den was. She had gotten lucky at the Sevii, it was the only explanation he could think of.

"_I will lead you back, then. This way._" The female shoved her way slowly to her feet. The larger clone frowned to himself. He had other things to do than sit and wait for her all night! "_A little speed, if you will. The sooner you get to the cave, the sooner you can rest._"

"_I'm moving!_" He was greeted with a slight scowl as Evetwo raised her head. "_Can't you be just a little patient? My head hurts!_"

"_It will hurt worse in the nights to come if you do not improve your mental barriers. This is nothing compared to what you would endure if someone wished to harm you._"

"_It still hurts now!_" By this time her tone had taken up a definitive whining aspect. Mewtwo turned away from her fully and began to walk. He did not need for the female to drive him into a headache, not now. It was still early enough that he could go back to investigate Team Rocket's activity under cover of nightfall, but late enough now that he would not be taking any undue risks. This time was valuable to him, and he wished to get some use out of it while he could. He ignored her until finally they reached the cliffside clearing. The female's feet were beginning to drag as he pulled the vine 'door' open.

"_Like as not the human girl will wake up some time in the morning rather than sleeping into the afternoon again. If you go to bed now, you will be able to get at least a few hours of sleep before she decides she would rather have your company than sit down there alone._"

Evetwo was scowling openly as she passed him into the caves. "_She has a name, you know._" She paused only a couple of steps down when she realized that he was not making any move to follow her. "_Aren't you coming down, too?_"

Mewtwo shook his head. "_I still have many things to think on, and I prefer to do so where I can look up at the sky. Being inside when the moon is still out is... stifling._" There was doubt in her eyes as he spoke; she seemed to be developing an annoying knack for knowing when he was lying to her. Mewtwo met her gaze. "_Go to sleep, Evetwo._"

There was the slightest hint of a nod as she turned and headed down the steps. Mewtwo watched, waiting for her to disappear, and was someone perturbed when she stopped at the bottom and looked back up at him. "_Hey..._"

He fought an annoyed twitch of his tail. "_Yes?_"

The smaller clone looked up at him before turning her head away, a gesture that he could almost call shy. "_Thank you._" Even mind-to-mind, her voice was almost imperceptibly small. "_Thank you for trying to help me protect my memories. I know you probably have your own reasons, but..._" She nudged the ground with her toe. "_Thanks anyway._"

There were times when he could predict her every thought, and then there were times like this. Mewtwo stared at the female, trying to think of some sort of response even as he realized that there was none, not for this. It was better to just change the subject. "_Go to sleep,_" he said finally. "_Rest well, and the headache will be gone when you wake up._"

Evetwo disappeared into her room without another word.

Turning, Mewtwo sought out the moon in the sky and stared up into its cold light. What had Mew been thinking, leaving her in his care? He could not give her any of the warmer attentions she needed, the affections she seemed to crave. He could not sit patiently and tell her the stories she seemed to be so fond of, or brush away her worries with a nudge and a smile. He could teach her to fight, yes, to defend herself, to hide from the world and trust no one, but beyond that... nothing. There was nothing that he could teach her that would not cripple her. He had nothing to give her. Half the time he could not even understand her. He had been as cold to her as he could have been, as merciless in his teaching as he could bring himself to be, because really, there was no other way to teach this technique to someone like her, she had to feel the _need_ for it. It was no trouble for him, of course. Getting into her mind, rooting through her memories, it was all so simple that it could have been nothing more than a game to him. And then once he had grown tired of the game he had turned snappish towards her, becoming impatient with every little thing she had done... and she had thanked him? She knew he had his own motives, openly admitted it, and still she _thanked_ him! Was there any rhyme or reason at all to how this female worked?

What had Mew been thinking?

It was a long time before Mewtwo moved from where he stood, invisible eyes the only witness to the fact that for once, he simply did not know what to do...

* * *

Sleep was good. 

Sleep was good and nice. Sleep was friendly and warm and chased the head hurts away. So why was her sleep being interrupted?

Eve groaned as something tried to shift her shoulder. Couldn't they just leave her alone? It felt like she'd only just laid her head down. What the bloody hell was poking her? The clone shifted, trying to retreat further under her quilt, and heard a soft whining. "Eve..."

"_Go 'way,_" the clone muttered. The child persisted.

"Eve, wake up..."

"_Trained all night. Lemme sleep._"

"But..." The child sounded ready to cry. "But Eve, I need to go outside!"

Eve pulled her tail around further over her nose, refusing to open her eyes. "_Outside is so over-rated. Go back to sleep for a while. Sleep is good._"

There was another whine. "But I have to go to the bathroom!"

Slowly, Eve raised her head and opened her eyes. "_You what?_"

"I have to go to the bathroom," the girl repeated.

In her shocked state, Eve felt sleep beginning to wear off. Damn. "_Can't you find Mew to let you out?_"

Ellie shook her head. "There's a little hole in the top of the vines. I think she went out already."

"_Ah..._" Cake. Eve pushed herself into a sitting position. "_Right. Give me a minute._" Fighting back a yawn, the clone pulled her quilt around her as she stood. No reason she couldn't take it with her. The child shifted from foot to foot anxiously. "_Come on. This way._"

Ellie ran on ahead, her eagerness to get outside stemming from far more than boredom, but Eve found herself pausing a moment to look towards Mewtwo's door. There was no movement this morning, no deep violet eyes watching her every move. Frowning, she headed for the stairs where Ellie was doing her little shuffling dance again. The child was outside before the psychic even had the vines back fully, running off, Eve assumed, to find some secluded spot in time. The clone pulled the quilt tighter around her, taking her time in leaving the cave. There was no need to rush, after all. She looked around, wondering where Mew had gone. It took her a few minutes to spot Mew hidden in the tall grass. She made her way over to say good morning and stopped.

What on earth was the kitten doing?

It was obviously a psychic technique of some sort. The pebbles and leaves on the ground around the kitten were shaking, some of them skipping along the ground in a circle around the tiny psy. As Eve watched, the pieces of debris slipping across the ground lifted into the air, swirling around Mew like a protective shield. Rocks and sticks soon joined the whirling leaves and dirt, until Eve could hardly see the kitten, whizzing about faster and faster through the air, around and around and-

"What's she doing?"

Just like that, the spinning mass fell to the ground. Mew blinked, flicking her ears to get the dirt off and staring at Eve and Ellie. "_When did you two get out here?_"

"_Just a minute ago. What was that?_"

"_I was stretching._" The kitten shrugged. "_I take it you kids want breakfast?_"

"Yes, please," Ellie cheered. Eve just nodded her head. It still felt rather fuzzy... Mew looked over at her.

"You okay, kiddo?" She had switched to mewling. Eve nodded again.

"_I'm fine._"

"Anti said your training last night got a little rough." The clone blinked. When had Anti gotten anywhere near them? Mew studied her for a moment, tail twitching, before switching back to telepathy. "I'll tell you kids what, how about I go nick something warm this morning. We'll call it a treat." Ellie nodded eagerly as Eve settled into a sitting position under a tree. Maybe she could take a nap once Mew had left...

Her tail landed in a cold spot, and Eve's whole body tensed at the lightening-and-ice water sensation. "_Anti!_"

"Yes?" The phantom drew the word out as he became visible, still with her tail running through him. "You know, kiddo, you're probably very fuzzy, but I really don't-"

"_Move already!_"

"Fine, fine," the phantom grumbled as he rose into the air. "I could have sworn I was here first..."

Eve shifted her tail as the furs on her spine finally began to settle. "_There, you can have your spot back now. Why were you invisible, anyway?_"

"It makes it easier to be sure certain siblings of yours stay out of trouble," Anti said bluntly. Eve blinked, and the phantom wrinkled his nose. "_Kid, what are you staring at?_"

If he hadn't switched to telepathy, Eve would have thought Anti was talking to her. Instead, she followed his gaze just as Ellie blurted out her question. "What do you feel like, anyway?"

Anti stared at the human, his eyes glinting eerily, before his face split into a wide grin and he shot clear through her stomach. Ellie's eyes were wide, her skin an ashen white as the ghostly Mew came out her back. "_Like that!_"

The little girl wailed and scrambled over to where Eve was sitting, trying to use her as a shield. "Not nice! Not nice at all!"

Eve glared at the phantom. "_Anti..._"

"_Well, would you have been able to describe it?_" The phantom settled lower, his feet brushing through the grass. "_Hey, I was careful. I didn't go near anything vital._"

"_You still don't do that to poor Ellie,_" Eve growled. Anti looked ready to argue for a moment before he sighed.

"_Fine, sis, you win. I'll tell you what. How about I tell you guys another story to make up for it._"

Ellie peeked out from behind Eve's arm. "Another legend?"

"_Yeah._" The transparent kitten settled fully onto the ground. "_I'll tell you more about some of the Legendaries, help set that little book of yours straight. Let's see, who's reputation do I want to trash now... How about I tell you about some of the birds? Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. I'll tell you about them._"

Ellie nodded eagerly, settling against Eve's side. The psychic stiffened a moment before forcing herself to relax. There was no harm in letting the little girl sit there... "_So,_" Anti said, "_The three birds. We'll start with Zapdos, because he's the only one of them I actually like. Zapdos is the bird of thunder. In the old days, when the birds were still in charge of the seasons, Moltres would show up to start spring and the warmth would increase into summer. It was up to Zapdos to call up the thunderstorms at the end of summer that would banish the heat and make way for autumn- otherwise the temperatures would be too high come winter, and Articuno would become ill. So Zapdos was pretty important, you know? He kept things running smoothly._"

Ellie chewed on the tip of one curl thoughtfully. Eve frowned, wary that the child might accidentally grab her hair instead. "Was he the strongest of the birds?"

"_He had a type advantage, let's just say that. Nowadays, Zapdos isn't nearly so strong, he doesn't have to be. Most of the legends have lost power through the generations, remember. But he's still more than powerful enough to use his electricity to spark the occasional thunderstorm. I remember some fifty years ago, there was this really bad drought in the Johto region. Zapdos and Kyogre both left their homes to check it out. Now, whipping up a maelstrom is no problem for Kyogre, but the affected area was too far inland for her rains to reach this time. Zapdos led the storm the rest of the way, and bailed a whole lot of people and Pokémon out of trouble._"

"That's so cool!" Eve remained silent, but inwardly found herself agreeing with Ellie. A bird that could direct storms that way? "So Zapdos is kind to people?"

Anti looked amused. "_When he needs to be, he can be. But he's also a wicked prankster. He's been known to brush up against metal so the next person who touches it gets a slight shock._" The phantom grinned. "_This one time, we went and-_"

"_You can't seriously be thinking of telling that story to Eve!_" Eve turned as Mew landed, toting a paper bag and carrying a plastic one with her tail. "_We don't need her getting those kinds of ideas._"

"_But it was fun,_" Anti protested as Eve stared at the bags. Something smelled seriously good. She could almost identify it... "_And no one was seriously injured or anything! Well, except for Entei, I think it was about a month before he could sit properly. But he had it coming, you know he-_"

"_Enough,_" Mew growled. Eve sniffed the air. The paper bag smelled like something baked... what was it?

"_Seriously,_" Anti asked, "_Who is Eve going to hit in the arse with a home-made cattle prod?_"

Eve froze, the warm scent forgotten. Who's... ass... home-made cattle prod? What? She turned to stare at Anti. Come to think of it... that would make a very nice method of revenge the next time Mewtwo pinned her to something. She giggled in spite of herself. Even he couldn't keep such a cool exterior if she...

"Young lady, stop that line of thought or you get no muffins!"

The clone's eyes widened and she felt Ellie sitting up straighter beside her. "_You got muffins?_" she asked, the human girl echoing the question. Mew nodded.

"_Yes, I did, and you two don't get any until Eve stops thinking about stabbing Mewtwo in the arse with a cattle prod._"

Ellie blinked and stared up at her with wide eyes. "Why would you want to do that?"

The psychic couldn't help a tiny smirk. "_Revenge._" And oh, what a revenge it would be...

"_No muffins,_" Mew said with a warning tone.

"_I can't help it! Blame Anti, he brought it up!_"

The transparent kitten gave a toothy grin. "_Blame taken._"

"Muffins?" Ellie asked with a pleading look. Eve looked over at Mew, trying to imitate it as best as she could. The kitten sighed.

"_Yes, muffins. Blueberry muffins hot out of the oven, and juice. Although some of you might not deserve it..._" The kitten tugged the bag open, telekinetically pulling out some of the golden puffs. Eve gulped, her mouth starting to water slightly as the smell hit her in full. Mew passed one muffin over to Ellie before dangling a second right in front of the clone's nose. Eve snatched it before the kitten could decide to tease her with it, her eyes widening. Mew hadn't been kidding, it was still warm! The tiny psychic giggled as Eve bit into the breakfast cake, her eyes falling shut. Warm and soft and the berries just burst in her mouth... "Pretty good treat, huh, kiddo?"

"_Happiness is a warm muffin,_" Eve mumbled as she swallowed. The kitten grinned as she tore into the breakfast treat.

"_So, do I always come up with the best presents?_" The kitten asked once she had finished. Eve eyed the bag hopefully.

"_Give me another and I'll say yes._"

"_Classic bribery? For shame, Evetwo, I taught you better than that!_"

"_Yeah, you taught me to just steal it myself!_" Eve reached for the bag, but Mew was too fast for her. The kitten jerked it out of her reach, batting her sharply on the nose with the tip of her tail. Eve blinked and backed up. "_Ow..._"

"_You wait your turn,_" the kitten scolded. "_Ellie, do you want more, too?_"

Ellie beamed. "Yes, please!"

"_More it is._" Mew pulled out more muffins and a couple of bottles of juice before settling in with her own baked meal. "_So, what were you telling them about this time, Anti?_"

The phantom looked up from where he had his head stuck in the bag of juice- the side of the bag, Eve noted- and grinned. "_The three birds. I was about done with Zapdos, I figured I'd go into Articuno next._"

Mew scowled. "_And you were going to do this without my supervision, why?_"

"_I don't need supervision! I can tell the stories just fine!_"

"_Sure, you can._" Mew munched on the muffin, taking full advantage of her telepathic abilities. "_The minute you got to Moltres..._"

"_Oh, like you wouldn't say the same things yourself._"

Ellie turned to Eve. "Why do they always do this?"

"_I have no idea,_" Eve answered solemnly as she twisted the cap off of her juice and took a drink. Sweet!

"I want to hear more of the legend."

"_So do I._" The large psychic turned to stare at Anti. He sighed.

"_Okay, okay. Where was I, then? Zapdos. Decent guy, known to occasionally help humans, also known to occasionally play some really awesome pranks. Good sense of humor, Zapdos, and that's rare among the legends. We're notorious for having warped senses of humor, if we have any at all. Well, there are exceptions. Take Dialga, great at parties. Give him a few Sitrus shooters, get him talking about the other legends, he will have you laughing for hours. Better yet, get him talking about his own followers. Hoo, boy..._"

"_Articuno,_" Mew said dryly.

"_Oh, right. Articuno._" Anti scratched his neck, and Eve frowned to herself. Did ghosts get itches? "_Interesting chick, Articuno. Popular opinion is that living in ice for so long has made her a little crazy. Very opinionated, sure of what she thinks, very confident... it's just that her opinions are a little weird. It was the job of her species in the past to bring winter. Winter was necessary so the world wouldn't become overgrown, see. Articuno brought the snows with her so that the old could die off and the new growth would have room. These days, Articuno lives up in snowy mountain ranges and uses her power to protect lost travelers from blizzards... or to cause the blizzards to worsen, impeding hunters who would use her more 'merciful' nature to trap her._"

Ellie's brown eyes grew huge, her skin pale. "You mean she... she kills them?"

"_She drives them away,_" Anti said firmly. "_If they die, it's by their own choice in pursuing her anyway. Ellie, legends are not supposed to kill like that. We're here to protect the balance, not upset it more._"

"But some of them do die..." The child looked shaken. Eve nudged her gently with her elbow and Ellie latched on, clinging through the quilt. "She kills humans..."

"_It's the choice of the humans to brave the storm,_" Mew cut in. "_Ellie, if Articuno, or any other legend of her nature, were to be captured, the odds are good that they would die. A lot of them have very specific needs and can't thrive when taken from the habitats that suit them. Taking Articuno from the mountain snows would be like taking Kyogre from the flowing water of the sea, or putting Shaymin in the middle of the desert. They can survive for a while, but eventually it would kill them. Articuno makes the storms to survive, Ellie. She has no choice._"

The little girl nodded once before looking over at Mew. Whatever question was brewing in her mind went left unasked, and for that Eve was thankful. She didn't want to know, either...

"_Moltres next, then._" Eve blinked. That was right, they had one more bird to do. She took a bite out of her muffin, noting that she had half-smashed it. Drat... Anti's mouth was twitching. "_Moltres, the bird of fire. It was the duty of his line to chase away the snows and bring spring with them. Because of this, Moltres and Articuno have always quarreled pretty badly. Zapdos is good at breaking them up, though. Type advantage, like I said. Now a days..._" The transparent kitten's nose wrinkled. "_Now a days, Moltres is a total, complete, full-about git..._"

"_If this turns into nothing more than a Moltres-bashing party, I'm sending you back to the afterlife._"

"_Giratina would just throw me back here again._" Anti grinned. "_I'm like a possessed boomerang. I keep coming back, even after you throw me in the trash._"

"What's wrong with Moltres?" Ellie asked innocently.

"_Pride,_" Anti said shortly. "_Moltres still thinks his kind ranks among the highest in the legends. Tell him otherwise and he turns bitter and resentful. Prove it... and you've got one very bad grudge being held against you. Moltres never likes to loose a battle, whether it's strength, speed, wits... whatever. Unfortuantely, he's kind of lacking in all of those catagories..._"

"That's not very nice," Ellie admonished. Eve sighed to herself, shrugging the quilt off of her shoulders. Since when was Anti ever nice? Then again, he did try to keep an eye out for them, even though he was dead. That was kind of nice, wasn't it? Eve watched as Mew scolded Anti once again for getting off topic as he tried to distract the little girl from his 'not niceness' with stories of yet another prank. There seemed to be no real relation between one and the other, Eve noted with a small smile, and if anything he was proving Ellie's point. Still, maybe it was good for what it was for.

Settling further back against the tree, Eve looked up at the sunlight filtering through the leaves. Maybe she could take just a little nap there and no one would mind. She didn't even know she was smiling as she fell asleep...


	43. Secret of Life, the Universe, Everything

Hy, everyone, sorry for the hiatus. I'm so bad. Short chapter today, and here's a warning- there is no psychobabble. There is no legend. There is no serious... except for maybe two seconds worth... in this entire chapter. Some of you might take note of the title- let me explain it. This, folks, is chapter 42. There's a bonus chapter that throws the count off. This is not 43. It's 42.

And so I have decided to have fun.

I've wanted to do this for a very long time now. This chapter... is educational in many ways. You will learn many things. You will laugh. You will be disturbed. You will see what happens when Mew decides to be disturbed. And you will see Anti... be Anti. Gods, I love that phantom.

Anyway, this is one of those chapters where I am going to sincerely ask for reviews, if only to see the responces to one scene. I'll leave you guys to figure out what it is. It's just... there.

Then again, you can say that about pretty much this whole chapter...

So let's go!

* * *

"Hey, Eve?"

Evetwo blinked, looking up from her book. Mew had disappeared, and Ellie was staring at her with an innocent expression that gave her the chills. She knew that look already, it was the human's "I'm going to ask you a very painful question now" look. She gulped "_Yes?_"

"How do Pokémon have eggs?"

"_How what now?_" It took Eve's brain several moments to fully process the question. Once it had, she found that she could do little more than fix the child with a blank stare. "_Um...you're asking me this why?_"

Ellie huffed as though it were the simplest thing on earth. "You're a Pokémon, aren't you? Who better to ask?"

Ah, cake. Had the girl forgotten? "_Ellie,_" Eve said slowly, "_I was born in a lab. They built me in a giant glass tube. I don't know anything about eggs._" The clone paused thoughtfully. "_Honestly, I didn't even know Pokémon had eggs... except for the birds and things..._"

"Oh..." The girl frowned. "I guess you wouldn't know, then. Do you think Mew would tell me?"

"_Maybe..._" Great, now Ellie looked hopeful. The last thing the girl needed to do was give Mew- and Anti- a shot with this question. Unfortunately, Ellie was already scrambling to her feet

"Come on! Let's go!"

"_Can't you go on your own?_" Eve grudgingly got to her feet anyway. The child reached out and grabbed her wrist, tugging eagerly. The psychic scowled. "_I can walk on my own._"

"But you'll move too slow!" Nevertheless, the girl let go to run on ahead. Eve tried to walk a little slower, hoping the child would loose her entirely. Where did Ellie come up with these questions? She couldn't remember ever thinking about things like this back then, and she'd certainly never... Eve stopped dead in her tracks as Ellie ran towards Mewtwo. Oh, no...

But to her profound relief, the girl only greeted him with an overly-excited "Have you seen Mew?"

Mewtwo stared down at the girl, barely containing his scowl. "_No, I have not. What do you require Mew for?_"

Don't-ask-him-don't-ask-him-don't-ask-him... "I need to ask her a question," Ellie said earnestly.

Eve relaxed. Good! The child hadn't asked, and Mewtwo would never- "_What was your question?_" The psychic female's heart almost stopped. Had he just... he hadn't just... Well, he picked a fine time to start caring! Groaning, Eve realized there was nothing she could do as the little girl repeated her question.

"How do Pokémon have eggs?"

Well, Eve thought to herself as her brother's eyes grew large, maybe there was some comedic value to the situation after all. Mewtwo stared down at the human, his usual passive scowl replaced by the closest thing to horror Eve had ever seen on his features. He actually took a step back from the human. "_Why would you want to know about that?_"

"Because it's one of the great mysteries of Pokémon!" Ellie's enthusiastic reply only seemed to perturb him more; he turned away from the girl.

"_In that case, yes, you will want to ask Mew._"

"_You don't even know, do you?_" Eve blurted without thinking. Oh, man, that was the wrong thing to say. Now he was looking at her...

"_As a matter of fact,_" Mewtwo almost growled, "_I have read a bit on the subject. The topic is of no more interest to me now than it was then, and I do not have any desire to try to explain it to a small human child._" Ellie didn't seem to notice the emphasis he placed on the word human, but Eve did. She scowled.

"_In other words, you don't know,_" she accused again.

Mewtwo turned his back on her fully as Ellie looked from one of them to the other and back a few times. "_It is not a subject that is relevant to my interests,_" he insisted once more.

"_And here I thought ignorance was some sort of crime to you,_" Eve mumbled.

Turning his head only, Mewtwo glared over his shoulder at her. "_It is._"

"_Then why-_"

"_Ellie, are these two arguing again?_"

Eve turned to stare at the kitten- Mewtwo was really glaring now- as Ellie nodded. "They're being kinda stupid," the child said solemnly. "Mew, I have a question that they don't know the answer to. Can I ask you?"

Mew settled onto a low tree branch. "_Sure, kid, ask away._"

Taking a deep breath, Ellie voiced her question for the third time that day. "How do Pokémon have eggs?"

Mew raised an eyebrow, looking across at Mewtwo. "_I can understand Eve knowing nothing about this one, but as much as you read..._"

"_I have read on the subject,_" Mewtwo snapped. "_I have simply never studied it in any detail. It is not relevant to anything I need to know._"

Eve couldn't resist. "_He knows nothing._"

"_Mewtwo, don't you dare answer her on that one,_" Mew warned as the larger clone turned to fix his stare on Eve yet again. "_Eve, don't bait your brother. He is bigger than you, you know._"

"_He's a bigger prat,_" Eve 'whispered' to Ellie. The child's eyes widened and she giggled, delighted by the secret confidence. Mew sighed.

"_Now, I'm assuming we all have a general idea of the whole messy breeding thing, right?_" Eve nodded slightly; she could remember, if she tried, asking where babies came from back then and the look of fear on Kyle's face. Ellie, also, was nodding. Mewtwo was turning and walking away. Mew stared at his retreating back. "_Where do you think you're going?_"

"_To find something better to occupy my time with,_" Mewtwo said shortly. "_This entire conversation has been pointless. I do not-_"

"_Sit,_" Mew said in a deadpan tone.

Eve flinched as the larger clone turned and glared full-force at the kitten. "_Pardon?_"

"_Sit,_" the tiny psychic repeated, switching over to her mewling language. "Besides, you can't possibly tell me you've never so much as wondered how your body works."

"_As a matter of fact,_" Mewtwo's tone was enough to make Eve flinch, "_No, I have not. That is not an issue for me._"

The cerulean-eyed feline drew back. "Ah, jeez, you mean they messed that up, too? Man, didn't Team Rocket get anything right the first time?"

This time, Mewtwo's voice did come out as a growl. "_It is nothing that they did to me. I realized early that the instincts you are speaking of are pointless. They would have grown to interfere with my training before too long, so I used my psychic abilities to lock them away._"

Mew stared up at Mewtwo with a stunned, slightly disturbed expression- her left eye was actually twitching slightly as her upper lip curled back in a disgusted snarl. "You seriously locked in your own instincts?" Mewtwo's jaw clenched visibly, and Mew abruptly changed the subject. "Eve, where are you going?"

"_Away from you guys,_" the female muttered as she picked her way into the trees. She heard a sigh from the kitten.

"Eve, get back here and sit down."

"_I've already reached my limit on things I didn't want to know for the day, thanks._" She suppressed a small shudder. Ugh...

"Aw, how cute, little sis is trying to be sarcastic." Anti. Great. The cloned female turned, looking for the owner of the disembodied voice. The phantom materialized next to Ellie. "I did it."

Eve blinked. He did what? Mew nodded over to the phantom before switching back to telepathy. "_Good. Now, Ellie... Mewtwo, sit down!_"

"_I have already told you, I am not-_" Mewtwo trailed off suddenly, stopping short in his tracks and wincing as though he had been hit in the head. Eve saw the air ripple slightly. A barrier? Mewtwo spun on the kitten. No escape, then. She sat down as Mewtwo seemed to find his voice again. "_Mew...there had better be a very good reason for this..._"

"The city is dangerous right now," the kitten mewled quietly. "I was just in the area; Team Rocket is far too active at the moment. Soon they'll probably be further out in the forest, too. I don't care if you listen to the conversation or not, just stay here."

Mewtwo stared at Mew for several long moments, and for a few seconds Eve felt a nearly overpowering urge to just run, run before anything bad happened. She saw Mewtwo's eyes flash, and then Mew's. They were communicating... Finally, the two psychics looked away from each other and Mewtwo, to her surprise, walked over and settled under a tree, his back to the rest of them. She glanced over at Ellie. The child stared back for a moment before scooting over to sit next to the clone. Eve shifted her tail to the side; Ellie was too busy looking up at her to notice that she'd almost sat on it. "Did I ask at a bad time?"

"_It's fine, Ellie. They're always like this, they never agree on anything._"

"Why not?"

Eve frowned. Because they were both egotistical gits? She couldn't just say that, not with Mew there. The kitten's feelings would be hurt. "_I still haven't figured that out..._"

Anti stared at them, boredom evident in his expression. "_So, what exactly was the conversation you guys were actually trying to have about?_"

And before Eve could stop her, Ellie asked again. "How do Pokémon have eggs?"

The clone groaned as the phantom's whole face lit up. Oh, cake...

"_Eggs, huh? I know about eggs. Eggs are..._"

Eve stiffened. "_MEW! Stop him before he finishes that sentence, please!_"

Anti looked wounded. "_Aw, come on. Don't you trust me, Eve?_"

"_I still remember the tracer round..._"

Ellie's curls bobbed as she tilted her head. "What tracer round?"

"_On this trip to Hoenn, someone shot me with a tracer gun. One of the bullets went right up my-_"

"_EAR!_" Eve and Mew both yelled at once. Ellie stared at them.

"You guys are weird..."

"_It tickled,_" Anti said with some pride.

"_Can I please hurt him?_" Eve whined, feeling the first pricklings of what could turn into a lovely headache. Mew sighed.

"If you figure out how to actually do it, let me know." The tiny psychic switched back to telepathy. "_Now, if there are no further questions, comments, remarks, or outbursts, Ellie, what exactly is it you wanted to know about eggs?_"

"I just wanted to know about them," the child said in her usual open tone. "I heard on TV that Pokémon have eggs, and I wondered about it. Like, do they all lay them or is it just some kinds? It seems silly to me that something like a Rapidash would lay eggs..."

"You know," Mew said with an amused tilt of the head, "_you ask some pretty good questions._"

Ellie blinked. "I do?"

"_Yeah._" The kitten nodded. "Most people would just say, tell me all there is you know. You actually ask about specific details." Ellie beamed as Mew settled onto the ground. "_Okay, first thing's first. No, not all Pokémon have eggs. That was a good one to wonder about. Certain types, however, do lay eggs most if not all of the time. Bugs, for example, or flying types or dragons. Snakes and other reptiles also lay eggs. A lot of water types do, too, but not all of the time._"

"What determines which Pokémon lay eggs and which don't?" Eve noted Ellie's hands inching towards her hair. Couldn't the child sit still without her hands doing something?

"_The main evolutionary factor for determining which Pokémon lay eggs would have to be mobility, at least in most species. Take birds, for example. If birds reproduced through live births, the females wouldn't be able to fly during pregnancy- they'd be too heavy. Predators would be able to just pick them off one by one, and then they'd all die out. Most fish lay eggs for the same reason- you can't swim fast with a big bulge in you- although there are some common exceptions. Vaporeons and the Mudkip lines, for example, are agile enough that live births are okay._"

"What else determines if a Pokémon has eggs or not?" Was the girl tugging on her hair? Eve turned her head, causing Ellie to drop the lock she had been looking at. The clone frowned to herself. What was it with this girl...?

"_Well, from an evolutionary standpoint you could look at things like where a breed lives or what it eats._" Mew's mouth twitched upwards at the corners. "_Personally, I like to pass it off as the first Mew just knowing what would work._"

"That's not very scientific," Ellie giggled. Beside her, Anti grinned wickedly.

"_It's a legend,_" the phantom announced gleefully. "_It doesn't have to make sense!_"

Eve groaned as the human started laughing. "_Anti, you're horrible._"

"_It had to be said,_" the transparent Mew retorted with an air of pride, leaning down to examine the way a rock was sticking through his foot. "_If I was alive, that would hurt so badly..._"

Ellie managed to calm down enough to ask another question. "What about interspecies breeding?" Eve stared at her. What did that mean?

Mew stared at the human. "_Now, where does a cute little kid like you learn a term like that?_"

"On TV," the child announced. Mew flicked her tail, studying the girl quietly.

"_Suddenly I have a hard time believing that television rots your brain,_" the kitten said at last. "_Interspecies breeding..._"

"_What does that mean,_" Eve interrupted. Try as she might, she couldn't remember any definition for the phrase. Then again, judging from the topic, it was likely Kathryn had never even heard the word.

"_It means cross-breeding, basically. Like, say you took a Meowth and a Skitty. They're different kinds of Pokémon, but they can still have babies. The babies would just take after one of the parents, although I have seen some Pokémon that look like they could be bastard mutant hybrids..._"

"_Turtwig!_" Anti yelled.

"_We don't want to know..._" Ellie frowned, looking ready to say something, and Eve repeated herself firmly. "_We don't want to know._"

The child spoke anyway. "How does cross-breeding effect what hatches from eggs?"

Mew grinned. "_Very good, Ellie, you asked about what hatches from eggs, not what lays them._"

Eve stared at the kitten. "_There's a difference?_"

"_Yes, there is. A big one, as a matter of fact._" Mew settled to sit more comfortably. "_Okay, this is how interspecies breeding works. Listen carefully, Eve, I'm only explaining this once. Say you've got, I don't know, a nice little Squirtle. Squirtles, being both aquatic and reptiles, are known to lay eggs, but of course this little guy's a boy, so he doesn't have to worry about that. Anyway, our little Squirtle meets this nice Marill and thinks she's just the cutest thing. Eventually they hook up, and the next thing we know we've got a pregnant Marill on our hands. Now, Marill's are another exception to the water-type egg deal, so give it time and that Marill is going to give birth to a live baby, possibly to a little baby Squirtle... which is probably going to hurt like hell, but that's another story entirely. In that manner, an egg-laying species can be born live. Now say we flip the genders. Maybe that Marill has a brother, and he falls head over heels for that Squirtle's sister. That Squirtle is genetically hard-wired to lay eggs, and that's what she's going to do, even if her baby is a cute little Marill. In this sense, through interbreeding, just about anything can be born live- or hatch from an egg- if you can find two parents who are determined enough. Not all species can lay eggs, but that doesn't make what hatches from them any more predictable. You get it?_"

"_Sounds simple enough,_" Eve muttered as Ellie nodded eagerly.

"_Good._" Mew looked pleased. "_So is that it or is there something else you wanted to ask?_"

Ellie hesitated for a moment before voicing her next question. "How do Mews have babies?"

For a moment the tiny psychic's ears seemed to droop. "_Live births,_" Mew said quietly. "_We have live births. Only Mews can't interbreed because of a few unique features in our genetic code._"

That piqued Eve's interest. "_What kind of features?_"

The kitten's tail flicked. "_We have extra alleles, extra strands, you could say, in our DNA._" The kitten's features softened. "That's why you're so special," the little legend mewled, leaving Ellie out of the conversation. "Your body should have rejected the transformation process completely. It should have failed, but somehow you survived. All I can think is that Arceus himself was watching you."

Eve said nothing, only letting the kitten trail off. Arceus, if he existed, probably wasn't even aware of her as nothing more than a nuisance. He was probably too busy making sure Palkia and Dialga kept things running smoothly and watching over all the more important, more natural Pokémon. If he was fully aware of her, he probably didn't care for her all that much. Why would a veritable god want his perfect world contaminated by a man-made thing like her or...

Her head snapped up. Across the clearing, Mewtwo was watching her quietly. Their eyes met, and she just knew he was aware of her thoughts even if he hadn't read them. For just a moment she thought she could see those same feelings she'd just been having reflected in his eyes before his gaze froze over and she had to look away... but not before she could hear his voice in her mind. "_He would probably prefer you over me, at least._"

She blinked. Was that supposed to be... comforting?

"_BINK!_"

Eve squealed as something gray reared up in front of her face. There was a rush of icy cold on her nose before the blur disappeared. The clone blinked. "_What the hell was that?_"

"You got binked," Mew said calmly as Anti's manic laughter rang out from the trees. "You were starting to zone out. Now watch your language."

"_Fine,_" the clone grumbled. Why did Mew always have to say that? It made her feel like a little kid. Sure, she wasn't sure how old she was... a fact that made her flinch... but it wasn't like-

"_BINK!_"

"Kyaa!" Ellie yelped as Anti leapt up from the ground in front of her, swiping at her nose. Eve couldn't help it; she laughed at the girl's startled expression. The child's curls went flying as she dove behind Eve, trying to seek cover against her tail. "He's being mean again!"

But Eve was laughing to hard to tell him to quit.


	44. Night Mission

Hi, everyone! I am so sorry for the hiatus! Work has been a pain in the arse lately- apparently I was the only cashier worthy of selling Christmas trees. Seriously, I got put in on all the peak hours for that, and then straight through to New Years when we were having sales... I'm overworked and underpaid, and then I'd come home and stare at Anomaly and decide no, not tonight, because Mewtwo scares me in this chapter... rilly...

Speaking of the chapter, I'm sorry, but there's no legend this time. The fact of the matter is, I'm back to the semi-dark chapters... as I said, Mewtwo scares me in this one... and the legend just didn't fit in. There was no reason for it here, as Ellie spends this chapter fairly absent, and honestly I didn't want to force something that just wouldn't work. I'll make it up to you guys next chapter- I'm planning on hitting Ho-oh and Lugia next. And then, as I've said TWICE, Mewtwo is scary here because... well... there are some things that no one should be able to do...

On the other hand, we get to see some bonding in this chapter that's as disturbing as it is funny. I get the strangest feeling that Flame would be proud...

So let's go!

* * *

There simply _had_ to be a better way to learn this technique!

Eve groaned, falling onto her side as her stomach lurched. Of course she hadn't expected to transform on the second night of trying, but the pain in her stomach was hardly welcome either. She lay in the grass, panting lightly. All that time spent waiting for Ellie to fall asleep so she could leave the cave and then this. How unfair...

"You'll never learn anything sulking like that." Eve blinked and sat up as Anti materialized a few feet in front of her. "It hurts, trying to learn transform on your own."

The clone frowned. "_You're going to tell me I can't do it, aren't you?_"

There was a soft, dry chuckle. "On the contrary," the phantom said, "I already know you can." Eve blinked; that hadn't been what she'd expected him to say. Anti smiled sadly. "It took you two years, where I came from, to figure out what you were doing wrong. Two years of pains and loss of appetite that I always attributed to how you were made. I thought you were sick most of the time, and then..."

The ghost trailed off, wispy glimmers of nostalgia passing over his gaze before he spoke again. "You proved me wrong."

Eve shifted. Was there a chance he could teach her? Oh, now she was starting to hope! "_Anti? What am I doing wrong?_"

The half-smile turned cryptic. "That all depends. What are you trying to become?"

"_I really don't know,_" the larger psychic admitted. "_I've been trying to remember all the Pokémon I've seen..._" Eve sat up straighter. "_Is that the problem? Is it because I'm only thinking of them, not seeing them?_"

Anti shook his head. "Your technique needs work, yeah, but it's not that. Your problem is rooted in what you're trying to become."

Eve blinked. "_Will it only work with certain types, then? What if I stuck with psychics, could I do it then?_"

The phantom kitten shook his head again. "Eve, you're DNA is too unstable," he said slowly. "You will never be able to turn into another Pokémon. Ever."

"_But you just said-_" Eve froze, the full force of his words hitting her then. She would never be able to turn into another Pokémon.

But he hadn't said anything about...

"_Anti,_" she asked softly, "_can I become... human?_"

Still with that twisted-ly sad little smile, the kitten nudged her arm. It felt like a breath of cold air. "You laughed at yourself for not figuring it out sooner, said you wasted two whole years. You had the cockiest grin on your face. 'Don't underestimate me,' that was what you said. You said that so often..."

A shadow seemed to pass over his face. Was this... mourning? Mourning for himself, for the life he left behind. How did he get here, so far from home? How did he even exist? Eve frowned. When was the last time he had even been called by his proper name? She gave it a hesitant try. "_Mew?_"

The phantom's head snapped up, his eyes wide, and after a moment she saw his smile start to grow warmer. "So, what do you say," he asked, "Do you want some help? We wouldn't see results immediately, but I could probably save you a couple years of trying. Do you want to learn from me?"

Eve closed her eyes. To be human again, if only for a moment... could she finally remember what had really happened to her? No matter how hard she tried, she could never recall those final moments as a human. Could this be the way? "_Yes. I... I want to learn._"

* * *

Hidden by the foliage, Mewtwo gritted his teeth. Mew had been right, the Rocket base in Viridian City had been busy. Humans and Pokémon ran back and forth, vehicles were loaded, radios blared, and why? Why? 

Because _something_ had leveled a base in Pewter City.

By listening, he had been able to piece together what had happened in a surprisingly short amount of time. A base near the city of stone had been nearly complete after some remodeling work when a surprise attack that afternoon had left it in ruins. 'Psychic involvement' was suspected, which Mewtwo immediately translated to mean 'Mew was involved.' Probably the phantom from the sounds of it, which explained the cryptic 'I did it' that the apparition had greeted Mew with that afternoon after the two had mysteriously vanished and re-appeared again.

So where had Mew been?

Sighing, Mewtwo decided he would rather not know. The kitten was not important right now. It was too busy to get too close to the base- he could only imagine how it had been hours earlier- but he could still gather information.

Right now, it seemed that Team Rocket's main forces were scattered. Many of their resources were already split, from the sound of it, between a lab being built in Cerulean and a weapon-based project in Saffron. The lab worried him more than any human weaponry. Also on the minds of several Rockets were rumors of a new project in Fuscia that was being kept tightly under wraps. He finally located an administrator who knew the actual facts- it was a long-scale project involving the Safari zone. All three locations sounded like hives of activity; Giovanni could easily be located at any one of them. Likewise, he could be in Pewter, checking the damage to the demolished base. He certainly was not here, and that was all Mewtwo really cared about at the moment.

The last of the trucks finally pulled out, and Mewtwo sighed to himself. As much as he hated to admit it, this worked in his favor. If Team Rocket was distracted by the attack on Pewter, it gave him more time to be thorough in his investigations here in Viridian. The administrator from whom he had gleaned the information on Fuscia was still present, and so he went back to carefully scanning the man's mind, ever cautious so he would not be detected. What he found was fruitful.

It would seem... and Mewtwo could not help a small surge of excitement... that this man was a target worth pursuing. Ranked higher than anyone else he had scanned so far, the administrator knew more about Team Rocket's current plans then the rest of these hapless grunts combined. If he dove deeper into this man's mind just once, he could learn more than he could from a month of gleaning grunts. It would be easy.

Below him, the administrator made the last orders before going home for the night. Silently, hidden by the shadows, Mewtwo followed.

* * *

It was going to be a miracle if she didn't throw up. Eve hadn't even known what nauseating was before now. She lay back on the grass, her stomach churning, and felt a surge of relief when Anti rested the tip of his tail on her cheek to cool her. The ghostly touch actually felt nice for once. "_I thought this was supposed to get easier..._" 

"I said it would take less time," the phantom clarified. "Your body is still resisting right now. You can't let it do that."

Eve scowled. "_I'm not letting my body do anything. If I was going to just let it resist, I wouldn't bother trying in the first place._"

"You're a mouthy kid," Anti observed with a musing tone. "It must be Mewtwo's fault, you never seemed to pick things like that up from me. Stealing, yeah, but not the sass."

The clone wrinkled her nose. "_You sass way more than he does, definitely._"

"See, you're doing it again. You did not learn that from me or any variation thereof. Nuh-uh."

That final childish sound made Eve giggle in spite of the pain. "_Mewtwo isn't sassy, he's a jerk. There's a difference._"

The phantom chuckled. "You know, you may have a point there."

"_So the only person left for me to get it from is you. Ha._"

"No, I refuse to believe it!" Anti flopped onto his side, staring at her plaintively, before sitting up. "I know, it's Flame's fault! He was a bad influence on you in the Sevii!"

"_Oh, sure, put everything off on someone who isn't here to defend himself!_" Eve couldn't stop herself from laughing a little as she threatened him. "_You'd better be careful, I could start acting like Fervo next._"

"Oh, for the love of me, no! Anyone but him!" The ghostly Mew was hunched over as though trying not to laugh. Eve eyed him with a sly grin.

"_I could always start talking like Scyther._"

That did it. The phantom let out one long howl that ended in a gale of laughter. "Not that! Anything but that! I swear I'll mute you if you try!"

"_You can't do that, you said you've lost most of your power._"

"I still had enough to turn Flame navy blue, shutting you up would be a snap," Anti retorted between gasps.

The idea of a blue Flame was too much, and Eve found herself falling to a fit of giggles. Anti was laughing so hard he actually rolled through a rock, which only made things worse, and it was some time before either of them could compose themselves enough to breathe. Eve lay back, staring up at the starry sky, and heard a confused mewl from near the trees. "What are you two doing out here?"

And Mew's perplexed expression was enough to start them both laughing all over again.

* * *

Diving into the human mind was a tricky thing. 

Mewtwo took a few deep breaths as the Rocket administrator shifted in his sleep in the apartment below. It had been careful work getting here, and then he had been required to wait as the criminal sat talking with the young man he shared the apartment with. Finally, the man had gone to bed- something Mewtwo desperately needed. He could glean the thoughts of others with little or no effort on his part and complete obliviousness on theirs, but to delve into someone's subconscious took patience and precision. To do so when a target was awake meant detection in all but the most oblivious of souls, and so Mewtwo had needed to take very deliberate care not to wake the man up. The knowledge he had gained made the effort fully worthwhile.

First of all, Saffron. Team Rocket was planning a large-scale siege of the city. Preparations were already underway, and the prospective countdown stood at about three weeks with the current rate of progress. The risk of exposure if he stepped in was just as great as the potential to deal a critical blow if he interfered with the plans; Saffron was home to some powerful psychics, and it was said that the gym leader, while only a young woman, was on par with many of the more respectable psychic Pokémon species. Firing shadow balls in the city, as he had when he had encountered Evetwo, was one thing; launching a full psychic assault was another. If he did interfere at Saffron, it would take careful planning. Fortunately, he had time.

The next target of interest, if he could even call it that at this time, was a plan to infiltrate the Safari zone and corresponding Pokémon reserve near Fuscia. Operatives would gain access to the grounds, either by posing as tourists, becoming employees, or sneaking in late at night, and learn the layout of the parks. The plan was to carefully document the inhabiting Pokémon to learn where they lived and what their habits were, and then to launch a single attack and ensnare them all in one fell swoop. Integration and planning was estimated as requiring two to three months, minimum. As of yet, the project was of absolutely no threat to the clones.

The final project, however, may have a more direct impact on them. The laboratory going up in Cerulean was designed for the study of Pokémon growth with the goal of isolating the chemical compounds that were released when a Pokémon reached a new level of power, such as through evolution of rigorous training. The hope was that they could then synthesize these compounds and use them to strengthen their Pokémon without ever having to train them. Mewtwo wondered how many of the helpless experiments would die before the process ever worked.

All morbid thoughts aside, this lab definitely posed the greatest threat to himself and to Evetwo, who had difficulties enough fighting against normally trained Pokémon. From the sounds of it, most of the equipment had already been shipped and the rest would soon follow. Destroying the expensive machinery was every bit as vital as destroying the location; if he waited a few more days in Viridian, he could destroy the laboratory in Cerulean as well as the equipment itself before any experiments were run and still have time to choose a course of action for Saffron. The psychic nodded slightly to himself. That would be the plan, then. Bide his time in Viridian- which would enable him to teach Evetwo to shield herself better- before hitting the base and gym, and then move on to Cerulean. If he took a night to rest and then another night or two to assess the situation with the laboratory, then he could strike the laboratory while Team Rocket was still reeling from the loss of it's main center...

So now all that was left was the matter of what to do with the Rocket sleeping in the apartment below.

Mewtwo lifted his gaze to the moon. It would be simple and fairly clean to end the man's life while he slept. A quick psychic clutch at the human's heart would send him into cardiac arrest, a rather merciful way to die if he numbed the man's mind and ensured that he remained asleep during his death. And yet...

_You're not going to kill anyone, are you?_

Mewtwo blinked. Why was he thinking of that now? The memory of the female's tone, the pleading, plaintive look way she had looked up at him when she had voiced the question, was like a weight on his chest. He had told Evetwo no, even knowing that it was a lie, he had told her that he would not kill even as he had planned how it could be done. She had known he deceived her, he had seen it in her eyes, and yet she had still managed to fall asleep under his gaze...

Perhaps he could keep his word to her a little longer.

Slowly, carefully, Mewtwo began to peel back the layers of the human's conscious memory. Painstakingly thorough, he dissolved the memories as he went, a day, a week, one month, two. Beyond that point he left little fragments here and there, gradually increasing the amount of residual memory until he stopped the erasure after seven months. That should be far enough to be convincing. It would take deep hypnosis to ever uncover those memories again. Now came the tricky part- making sure no one tried. Mewtwo closed his eyes.

Locating the point at which to induce a seizure in a human was demanding work. He had discovered the mental point rather by accident in dealing with some thugs a couple of years back and had filed the information away for later use. Granted, no one seemed to pin the fact that the man had gone stark-raving mad on the seizure, but that was understandable under the extenuating circumstances. And then there was the issue of memory loss not being entirely common with seizure victims, but he was sure it would slide... there. Mewtwo smiled grimly. A single psychic spike was enough to send the man into convulsions. He could actually hear the crash as the spasms sent the human plummeting over the side of his bed. Discreetly, he 'prodded' the sleeping roommate with the impulse that something was wrong, and then waited as the youth woke up and called the proper medical authorities. And that was it, Mewtwo decided with a small nod. The man would live, the memory loss would be attributed to the stroke, and Mewtwo's own next course of action had been plotted. Now he had two options- he could either go back to the den and work on Evetwo's mental training, or he could take some time to wander. The training, he knew, should come first. And yet...

It only took Mewtwo a moment to slip away from the commotion and find a less frantic area of town to settle into. Silent observation, a hobby of sorts that he had not had time to indulge in since Evetwo was dumped into his life. The human species, as much as it repulsed him, seemed to have this near-magnetic power that consistently drew him nearer in spite of his misgivings. It was a dangerous obsession, one that he chided himself for again and again. The species was brutally inconsistent, sometimes kind, more often cruel, both to Pokémon and to itself, and yet he had always felt this yearning to understand them... now more so than ever. Because, as that tiny nagging feeling in his gut always reminded him, at some time in her life, the female that was undoubtedly curled up sleeping back at the cave had been human, too.

Why could he never forget that?

Mewtwo tipped his head back, letting his face be caressed by the cold waves of the slivered moon. First of all, he needed to stop thinking about _her_. That was becoming an annoying habit lately when he let his mind drift, he could never seem to focus on a single situation without worrying over just how she would play into it. Granted, the fact that he was learning to take her into account now was a good thing; it meant that his plans would be more stable down the line. But the fact that he was considering her when his plans did not affect her one way or another, such as in the fate of that Rocket...

Below him, an ambulance went screaming by, the siren harsh and cruel to his ears. An appropriate sound, the bitter wailing a herald to ill fortune. He could hazard a guess as to its destination. Bitter work, but necessary in the end; there was nothing to regret. No one would have mourned for long had he killed the man, scum that he was. More than likely, no one would have even cared. So why hadn't he done it? Because _she_ would have cared? She would never have even known. It was an insignificant point.

_This_ was why he had not wanted her.

The flashing lights of the emergency vehicle faded out of sight, but the bitterness remained. This was not what he wanted, this feeling like he was obliged to guard her emotions as well as her body and mind. This was what he wanted to avoid all along. He could not afford any sort of bond with this childish little female because someday she would be gone. Had he not given the other clones the chance to choose their own destinies, and then not one of them had included him... not one had thought to stay...

_Damn_ her for always making him think of such things!

Suddenly, watching the lights and lives of the city no longer appealed to him in any way. Frowning, Mewtwo stood up and headed towards the forest again, a silent shadow against the nigh sky. It would be wise if he got some semblance of rest this night, so he really did need to get around to Evetwo's training. His scedule was loose, but it was a schedule nonetheless, and he planned to keep to it. Otherwise, nothing would get done.

He would definately need to sleep tonight.


	45. Barriers

This turned into one very long chapter...

Hi, everyone! Don't mind me, I'm just nursing my headache. The vast majority of this chapter is from Mewtwo's point of view... bastard demanded about 4000 words all to himself... and then after this I take the piss out of many, many powerful Pokemon, including the legends of the day Lugia and Ho-oh. Oh, dear. Anti, as usual, can't keep his mouth shut through the discussion, or any of the chapter for that matter, and I think Ellie's last line in the chapter sums up half of the ANI. Wow...

On another note, everyone needs to look up the authoress WiseAbsol (after reading and reviewing Anomaly, of course) and read her story Solitude, a piece about the Apples Not Included network's very own favorite psychic kitten. But be warned- the story contains massive spoilers, not about the future of the ANI, but about Mew's mysterious past... Go check it out, and be kind and review that, too, while you're at it!

So let's go!

* * *

Lugia, the Diving Pokemon 

Height- 17'10" Weight- 476.2 lbs

The legendary Guardian of the Sea, Lugia's powerful wings are capable of generating gusts of wind that can flatten a building with a single flap. It typically lives deep at the bottom of the ocean, but is said to take flight on stormy nights.

Ho-oh, the Rainbow Pokemon

Height- 12'6" Weight- 138.7 lbs

The legendary Guardian of the Earth, Ho-oh is often associated with rainbows, both because his feathers shine in seven colors depending on the light and because he often appears in conjunction with them. It's feathers are said to bring happiness to those that possess them.

* * *

There was definitely a pattern beginning to emerge here. 

For the second night in a row now, Mewtwo had come 'home' to find Evetwo outside the caves. He supposed he should at least be thankful that she was not alone this time, but it was hard to find the sentiment when she and her companions were sleeping. Then again, he noted as he observed the way the two tiny legends were resting against the female's tail, only one of them was truly asleep. The other did not need to take such actions any more...

The apparition opened his eyes and raised his head as though on cue. "Been wondering when you'd be getting back."

Mewtwo ignored the statement. "_Is there some reason why I continue to find her outside when I return?_"

"She seems to think that nighttime is a good time to go out," the phantom shot at him with more attitude than his living counterpart would have. "I can't imagine who taught her that. So how many people's lives did you wreck tonight?"

The question was meant to be sarcastic, but Mewtwo decided to answer him anyway. "_Only one, although I suspect more will follow._"

The Antimew actually seemed to choke a bit, and Mewtwo noted that his eyes actually reflected the moonlight a little when they widened. "What the hell did you do?"

The clone scowled. "_I do not see how it is any concern of yours what I have done, but I am capable of eliminating threats without murdering anyone, if that is what you are thinking._" Granted, half of the time it did not seem to be worth the effort...

Still, the ghostly Mew relaxed. "Memory erasure, right? I'd almost forgotten you could do that." The larger psychic nodded, not feeling the need to enlighten him on what else had occurred. Anti sighed. "I'm not even going to ask what the catch was."

Mewtwo frowned. "_Pardon?_"

"The catch. I know you, Mewtwo, there's always a catch. Erase his memory and sure, he's not a threat, but everyone else is. If you chose to let someone off with something as simple as a little memory loss... well, you wouldn't. You'd find some way to make sure no one suspected."

The clone gritted his teeth, looking back towards the city to avoid making eye contact with the ghost. "_If you do not mind, I must speak with Evetwo now._"

"She's asleep," Anti informed him. Mewtwo forced himself not to bite down so hard; the phantom was speaking as though he could not see that for himself.

"_I am aware of that. I intended to wake her up._"

The ghastly Mew stared at him for a moment before sighing. "I get it. Do me one favor?" The Antimew's gray eyes shone. "Be a little bit kind to her, at least? She's only a child."

Mewtwo simply stared at him until finally the ghost touched his tail to Mew's and they both disappeared with the faint flash of teleportation. He waited several minutes in the silence of the night, until he was certain that the living kitten, at least, had not tried to return, before focusing his attention on the female. "_Evetwo._" She shifted, but did not awaken fully, and so he called her name to her again. "_Evetwo. Wake up._"

There was a shift from the curled figure on the ground, and then he saw her head moving a little bit. He tried calling her again and her chin lifted, her eyes slitting open slightly. She blinked several times. "_Mewtwo?_" Her head turned as she looked around the clearing. "_Where..._" a pause as she yawned, "_Where did Mew and Anti go?_"

"_They have gone back to the caves. It is time for you to wake up. We must work on your barriers again, as they are still too weak to hold out a properly-trained psychic._" Be straight-forward, explain everything. That was what made her less likely to argue with him. He could play that game, to an extent, if only for the off chance that explaining small things like this would appease her enough to keep her from asking about the larger issues. The only response he got was a bleary nod; she was taking her time in waking up. Suppressing a sigh, he decided that there was no point in rushing her too much. He could use the time to rest his own mind for a few precious moments before they started. The night was still at least a little young, after all, hardly past midnight by his estimate.

The female stretched, her fur rippling slightly around her shoulders as she shivered. Mewtwo frowned to himself. She seemed frail when she did that; he did not like it. Sleepy red eyes looked up at him. "_Why do we have to do this now?_"

"_It is too important to wait,_" he said tersely. Evetwo tilted her head to one side for a moment before she finally nodded. Giving herself a little shake, she sat up straighter. He waited until she seemed a little more aware before speaking again. "_I assume you remember what you learned to do last night?_" The smaller clone nodded, rubbing one eye with the back of her wrist. Mewtwo inclined his head slightly. "_Very well._"

He attacked her suddenly, without any warning.

Evetwo wailed, a tormented, high-pitched screech as he dove into her mind, deliberately causing a very noticeable amount of pain as he went. He could feel her fear washing over him, blind panic as he dug into her subconscious; the shock he inflicted on her mind was by no means substantial, but it was still unexpected by her and thus frightening. Fear often made pain seem more intense, after all. "_Fight me back,_" he ordered sharply, "_push me out. You have the ability. Now make it happen._"

He felt her power struggling against his, clamoring for a place to push, until finally she was able to give him a small shove. He drew back and she gasped in her relief, meeting his carefully sheltered gaze with wide, tearful eyes. "_Why...?_"

"_That is the kind of pain you would feel if someone wished to hurt you,_" he said carefully as she struggled to gather herself. "_Were another psychic to truly feel malice against you, they could make you feel even greater agony than that. This is what you are trying to protect yourself from._" Evetwo nodded weakly, fear straining her face as she waged some internal battle. That was understandable. He had frightened her, hurt her in the process, and knowing her it was likely that she was fighting the urge to flee. He stepped towards her. "_I will not use that technique again, but do you see why it is so valuable that you learn to create this barrier?_"

"_I do..._" Damn her tears, she was actually making him regret what he had just done. It was needed, it was necessary, to make her learn, otherwise she would never take this training seriously, and yet...

How could he make her stop _crying_?

Gritting his teeth, Mewtwo watched as the female made a tiny noise like a hiccup. If she worked herself into a state of distress, it would undoubtedly attract unwanted attention from Mew. He had to calm her down now, and quickly. Perhaps if he were not standing over her quite so much she would settle... he moved over to sit near her, resting on the same stone she had used as a seat the previous night. She followed him with her eyes, the trick seeming to work- she calmed slightly once he was seated and no longer looming over her as he had been before. "_There are two other ways a telepath could harm you,_" he informed her. "_Should a psychic get into your mind, they could erase your memories..._" Evetwo flinched visibly. Mewtwo sighed. "_I will not harm the things you remember, do not worry. But someone else could. It is possible, even easy if one is powerful enough, to erase the memories of a person or Pokémon... and it is also possible to alter them, to take a memory and warp it into a nightmare._"

"_A nightmare?_" The female repeated softly. "_How can anyone turn a memory into a nightmare?_"

He looked her over critically. Her hair was spilling down over one eye; her eyes were still bright with tears. "_If I show you, you will cry,_" he said solemnly. "_Better that I only tell you than show you. It is possible, if one is both powerful and determined enough, to change the outcome of events in someone's mind, to literally re-write their memories. In some cases, I suppose this can be used to smooth over any gaps memory suppression would leave... but it is more commonly used as a form of torture._"

"_And you can do this?_" Her voice was still small. Mewtwo nodded a reply, watching her head dip slightly as she looked up at him. To his surprise, the look of fear in her eyes seemed to dampen slightly, something almost like admiration edging in. "_Will I be that strong, too, someday? I mean... I wouldn't want to do it, but..._"

"_Perhaps if you work hard you can achieve that level of power someday._" And he would still be years ahead of her, he noted silently. The female nodded, comfortably unaware of his thoughts and beginning to calm down in earnest now. He nodded to her. "_Now close your eyes and focus. It is time to begin._"

It only took him a moment to delve into her mind. Skimming over the events at the Sevii, he paused for a moment on the night they had met; the fear with which she had regarded him then was amusing. For those few moments she had known terror, and now...

He moved back further, to before they had known of each other's presence. One memory seemed to stand out during what appeared to be a brief period of travel- a sort of emotional tag point as Eve sat in the company of a pair of humans around a campfire. As the scene began to 'play' he felt her mind begin to resist- a sure sign to him that this was an important memory... a thought confirmed when he heard the way a human male with shocking red hair had been talking to her. Mewtwo pulled back, finding the beginning of the memory the same as one would find the start of a chapter in a book, and observed the moments when Evetwo had learned what she truly was. The female struggled against him the whole time.

And then, finally, the time arrived to see just what Team Rocket had done to her.

The resistance increased as he pushed his way back further, the rush of memories once he broke through comparable to a stream of bubbles. He mentally snatched at the first one with strong emotions around it, her escape. The whole thing had been planned by a few humans, and he noted with some dismay that she had left the laboratory intact. He moved on...

And found himself plunged suddenly into a far more brutal scene. His own mind flinched from the phantom pain as the tamer from the Sevii lashed into Evetwo with a blood-stained whip. The female's mind seemed to spasm, the soft whimpering very much a part of the here and now as she cringed backwards; the Evetwo in the memory never made a sound. Seeing a memory being drawn out by a psychic was, he was aware, akin to re-living it, and the memory-Evetwo had been confused, unable to understand what she had done wrong this time. That confusion superimposed itself onto the female's current state of mind until she was no longer sure what she was doing. He gritted his teeth and reminded her. "_Fight it!_"

The sound of his voice seemed to have a fortifying effect. Her confidence shook, then strengthened, and she began to fight against him once more. He skipped to another memory, a silent rest period when the pounding in her head had been dwarfed only by the persistent nagging of her empty stomach as she silently glared through her own reflection in a mirrored wall. There was a bitterness in her eyes that was foreign to him; they almost reminded him of his own. Had she remained enslaved... From there, he began to ignore the chronological order, jumping instead to whatever appeared to be the most _painful _memory, repeating a memory or two as it suited him, his stomach churning as he saw what they had done to her; physical beatings, verbal abuse, starvation, suppression. And for what goal?

The tears were streaming from behind her closed eyes as he pushed farther. He hesitated a moment; too much and he could potentially shatter her. And then he stumbled across the most violent memory of all. Evetwo's body shuddered at the recollection of the whip falling again and again, the tamer's boots digging into her sides when she fell, the curses and shouts driving into her ears. Unable to contain his curiosity, he tried to find the beginning of the memory to see just what had spurred such an incident...

And found himself locked out tight.

Blinking, Mewtwo looked down to find those blood-garnet eyes raised to his. "_No more,_" the female half-hissed, half-groaned. "_No more. Out. No more._"

He paid her no heed, instead attacking the mental barrier from all possible angles. The female grunted, trembling from the mental strain of keeping him out, but her determination to keep that particular memory at bay seemed to give her some strength; he found places where he could have cracked her defenses, but they held out under his 'inspection.' He gave one final push, and then withdrew his consciousness from hers. Evetwo fell to her side, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Mewtwo regarded her with a calculatedly passive expression. "_You have done well,_" he said quietly.

She stared up at him with glistening eyes. "_You had no right..._"

"_Could you have learned any other way?_" He kept his voice calm as she tried to shove herself back up. For a moment he almost thought he saw the same darkness in her eyes that he had seen in the reflection in her memories, but it was only a trick of the light. Mewtwo watched her struggle to get up, standing shakily, and noted that her face was flushed clear through her fur. He nodded to the other side of the large rock he was sitting on; the night air had made it cool. "Sit here, against the stone," he ordered as gently as he could, "it will cool you off."

She complied without a word, sitting far closer to him than he had expected; he could easily have reached over and touched her hair. Her eyes fell closed as she pressed her cheek to the rock, and he studied her in silence. In that last memory, the worst pain had been when the whip had fallen across her face, right about... there. He studied her nose carefully. It was too dark to see if the lashing had left any scarring, and as scars were typically pale he doubted it would show up through her snowy white fur anyway. Already her flush was disappearing. He watched her eyes open. "_So... did I do it right?_"

He kept his voice low; the wrong tone could make her overly-emotional state even worse. "You did very well." She nodded, her expression tired but still seemingly pleased. He looked to the sky, trying to judge how much time had elapsed. At least two hours, not nearly three, but time always did pass much more quickly than it seemed during such mental exercises. When he looked down again, Evetwo was asleep. Mewtwo frowned. She needed uninterrupted rest now, and the odds were good that if he moved her now she would awaken... but she was asleep outside again. He sighed lightly to himself, using his teleportation abilities to retrieve the female's quilt from inside the cave. He did not have to move to tuck the fabric around her as she slept. He did not feel like going inside yet, and she was not _too _much of an inconvenience. He could watch her for a little while, at least.

He figured he would be outside until the sickened feeling in his stomach finally went away anyhow.

Evetwo herself had been naive enough to not understand what they had been doing to her. Mewtwo was not. He closed his eyes, recalling the surge of power the female had felt during her escape. The black iron rings she had worn had suppressed her powers almost completely, until she was of no more threat than your average Natu. But why...

And yet, when he looked at everything else they had done to her, the answer was painfully clear. Team Rocket had been trying to break her.

It made sense. They had suppressed her powers to a point of psychic helplessness, making it possible for them to literally beat her into submission on a whim. They had also kept her hungry, her meals seeming to have varied from perhaps two small ones in a day to none at all. That would weaken her body... and her spirit. In time, even the comfort offered by the human caretaker would have turned her to despair, although he doubted the fool scientists had realized the effect the woman had been having. And to top it all off, the one final clue: not once in those memories had Evetwo been exposed to another Pokémon. There had been no way for her to see her true power, nothing for her to compare herself to, nothing to make her see that there was another way. He had made his own escape from Team Rocket secure in the knowledge that his power could protect him, that he could defeat anything they tried to detain him with. Evetwo had possessed no such knowledge- all she ever knew was that she belonged to these humans who kept her as a slave. Eventually, that complete lack of hope would have been too much, and Giovanni would have had the very thing he had sought at Mount Quena- a soul-less, will-less doll to follow his every whim. The spirited female he knew would not have existed.

Evetwo shifted in her sleep... moving closer to him in the process, he noted with some dismay... and made a soft mewling noise in her throat. Mewtwo felt his anger surge. Giovanni was the one to blame for this; her treatment, her very existence, was on his orders. In his lust for power, the human had grown beyond sick- one could go so far as to call the man a monster...

He knew what the memory had been.

Mewtwo blinked and glanced down. During their argument in the Sevii- and he still remembered every bitter word she had cast at him- Evetwo had told him of a man she had 'broken' and the punishment she had received for fighting back. That was what she had fought so hard to conceal from him- her own sin. It was possibly the only thing she had done in her short life that she felt was wrong, despite her conviction that she would have done it again if she could. And so she had tried to hide it from him...

"I should ream your ass for what you just did to her."

Mewtwo's whole body tensed before he turned, slowly, towards the source of the sound. There was a gray haze forming in the air, slowly materializing until the phantom was fully visible. He had figured as much, to be honest. It was not like Mew, in any form, to not want to keep an eye on things. "_I did what was necessary._"

"_You could have destroyed her,_" the ghostly psychic hissed telepathically, probably in an effort not to wake up Evetwo.

"_Had that final effort failed, I would have halted for the night. I was well aware of her mental state._" Mewtwo had to suppress an annoyed lash of the tail; to do so would have meant hitting the female in the head. Had she gotten closer still?

"_She was just on this side of breaking! She was in pain!_"

The clone gritted his teeth. "_There was no other way. To teach her kindly would have taken months, months in which she would have been vulnerable. The mind learns faster when it feels the need than when it is simply asked to._"

Had he not known better, he would have sworn the non-existent fur on the Antimew's back and shoulders had ridged. "_You really have no idea how fragile this situation is, do you,_" the apparition challenged. "_You honestly think you can just sit there and do as you please, make any decision you feel like on your own, and no one is going to be hurt by-_"

The female was stirring. Mewtwo cut the phantom off sharply. "_You will awaken her._"

Anti snorted. "_So you'll look after her now that it suits you, then? Open your eyes, Mewtwo. She's not you. She can't handle the things you can._"

"_I would not expect her to,_" Mewtwo replied levelly. "_What I do expect is that she learns to carry her own weight and defend herself properly. I do not have the time to wait for Mew to babysit her whenever something needs to be done. She must be capable of caring for herself..._" he allowed his eyes to narrow slightly. "_Or she will not survive. I cannot be with her at all times; I cannot protect her every minute of every day. She must learn. And learning is never easy._"

The ghost's transparent ears drooped. "_Maybe not the way you know it,_" he murmured, "_but there are other ways..._"

Mewtwo glanced downwards; this time he actually saw her shift, and she _was_ getting closer to him. Lost in sleep, her body was instinctively seeking warmth. If this continued, he would have to move. "_The methodology is meaningless now. She has learned what I sought to teach her. The next lessons will not be painful._"

"_For your sake, they'd better not be. The sooner you can get the stick out of your arse and admit that you're starting to care, the better._"

By the time he looked up again, the phantom had disappeared. Mewtwo frowned almost imperceptibly. He had no way of knowing if the phantom was truly gone or simply invisible- a fact that annoyed him to no end. Still, it appeared that the conversation had come to an abrupt, if threatening, end, and for that he was thankful. True, the phantom's last words gave him a twinge... more so than he cared to admit... but if the Antimew wished to delude himself in that manner it was fine with Mewtwo as long as he made his presence as un-noticeable as he could. Caring, indeed. Once Evetwo had grown a bit more, she would undoubtedly leave. Caring was a pointless gesture that would only hurt him later on. He did not need to care.

There was another soft mewl, the tiny noise rising upwards at the end as Evetwo struggled with some slip of her past in her dreams. Mewtwo frowned. He did not need her waking up right now. Sighing inwardly, he reached his mind towards her own once more, smoothing out her dreams until she fell back into a peaceful slumber. There. Now, perhaps, he could find some rest of his own. He closed his eyes to meditate.

* * *

She as aware of something tugging her. 

Eve shrank back, trying to escape the persistent hands as she nestled down into her quilt. Someone was pulling at her hair and shoulders, urging her to wake up. She didn't want to wake up. What she wanted was to stay right where she was, nice and cozy-warm except her tail which seemed to be freezing, and go back to sleep. Annoyed, she voiced her protests and felt the tugging stop. The voice kept going, though. "Did she just hiss at us?"

"_Sis is always hard to wake up in the morning, Ellie, it was nothing personal._" Mew. Go figure. Something- probably the kitten- nudged her head. "_She must have been out here all night, she's all damp._"

There was a sudden rough sensation on the side of her head, like warm sandpaper. Eve opened one eye. Was Mew... licking her? "_What are you doing?_"

"_Getting the dew off, you're covered in it._" The clone raised a hand, trying to bat the kitten away, but the tiny psychic evaded her sleepy swing. "_Come on, kiddo, start waking up._"

"_I don't wanna,_" she whined, scrunching down into the warm fabric as Mew began to attack one of her ears. "_Cut that out!_"

"Baby sister," Mew cooed, laughing softly as she backed away. Eve scowled.

"_I am not a baby._" The larger psychic sat up, tucking her tail around her feet to try to warm it. Her head still felt fuzzy from working on the barrier last night, but somehow she had slept soundly. Eve blinked. Where had her quilt come from? Ellie settled down next to her, eagerly reaching for her hair.

"It's all wet!" Eve grumbled once and was mildly surprised when the girl let go. "What were you doing out here last night?"

"_I was working on my techniques,_" the psychic mumbled. "_Mewtwo was teaching me something new._"

"Like what?"

"_Like how to keep other psychics out of my head,_" Eve answered, watching Mew carefully for a response. There was none; the kitten was talking to Anti. "_Why are you guys out so early?_"

The human girl stared at her, her expression suddenly deadpan. "You have no idea what time it is, do you? The sun's been out for almost four hours now."

"_Already?_" Eve blinked, looking up. The sun _was_ fairly high. "_Why'd you wait so late to come out?_"

"We've been in the other clearing all morning."

"_Oh._" Eve stood; moving out of the shade sounded nice, maybe the moisture caught in her fur would go away. Ellie got up and followed her to the main clearing, picking up a notebook as she went. Eve stared. "_What's that?_"

"It's my sketchbook," the child said with some pride. "I was drawing Mew!"

Ellie opened the book and proudly displayed the page for Eve to see. What the child lacked in skill and experience it seemed she made up for in careful deliberation; the drawings, pockmarked with smudges where the child had erased her mistakes, were still fairly true to the tiny legend. Eve glanced at the hopeful brown eyes and gave in with a smile. "_They look good, Ellie._"

The child's whole face split into a wide grin. "Thank you! Can I draw you next?"

"_Maybe later,_" Eve said carefully, although in her mind it was closer to a no. Mewtwo would kill her! Ellie nodded, turning around and walking backwards to watch Mew. The kitten shot past them, the human turning to watch her, and then doubled back and flew a loop around them. Ellie giggled.

"I like Mew!"

Eve just nodded, still sleepy. She remembered training last night, pushing so hard it hurt, finally closing Mewtwo out of her mind... and then, if she recalled right, she had fallen asleep right at his feet. Had he gotten her the quilt, then? She would have to thank him later. It kind of surprised her, really...

The next thing she knew, there was a mug being dangled in front of her face, the milk inside it sloshing over slightly. "Breakfast," Mew announced. Eve blinked twice and took the drink, nodding her thanks, as Ellie ran to sit where her bag was.

"Mew was going to tell a story," the little girl announced, "and I decided we should find you first."

"_That sounds okay._" Eve took a drink. "_What are you going to tell us about this time?_"

"_I thought I'd educate you about the guardians of earth and sea this time, Ho-oh and Lugia._"

"_Guardians are the highest class of legend, right?_"

"_Of the standard tiers, yes. Obviously Arceus is a higher class than that, and Pokémon such as Giratina usually take classes of their own as well, but as far as the baser legendaries, Lugia and Ho-oh are right up there at the top._"

Ellie actually raised her hand. "_What do they actually do?_"

"_Well,_" Mew settled onto a rock. "_Like all guardian classes, it's their jobs to intervene when an event occurs that could threaten the safety of the planet at large. Usually they do so indirectly, but occasionally they end up having to get their hands dirty themselves. And boy, when they do. Ho-oh is the bird of fire, and I mean the bird. He outclasses Moltres in every way possible. He's larger, stronger, faster..._"

"_More of a prat_," came Anti's input from somewhere in between Eve and Ellie.

Mew scowled. "_I told you to stay out of this one._"

"_Well. I'm sorry, but his 'purify everything by fire' methods never really appealed to me._" Ellie's eyes widened, the child squeaking slightly. Even Eve felt a twinge of unease. Purification by fire sounded... painful. Mew sighed.

"_It's not as bad as all that. Ho-oh's sacred flame is actually capable of healing just as much as it is destroying._"

She heard Anti chuckling. "_Which just makes him even more gung-ho about burning everything. He should meet Flame, they'd get along great._"

"_They wouldn't and you know it,_" Mew snapped, "_Now either turn visible or shut up._" Anti obliged, turning visible with a small popping sound that Eve was positive was deliberate. "_Now, as I was saying. Ho-oh is the great bird of fire, and his flames are capable of both burning something until not even the ashes remain and healing the wounded or sick. He can be... a little showoff-y, I guess you could say. He's fond of occasionally revealing himself after a storm, by means of the rainbow, usually... well..._" Mew grinned wryly. "_Usually just to expand his own legend. Okay. So he's a lot showoff-y. Which is interesting, I guess, as he seldom ever actually acts out his own will. Ho-oh has three vassals that work for him, the running dogs Entei, Suicune, and Raikou._"

"_Entei's a prat, Suicune's a priss, and Raikou is just plain crazy._"

"_I mean it, you stop. You're scaring the kids._"

"_Aw, but Ellie looks funny when her eyes get all big._" The human girl did look wide-eyed, Eve noted. She also had that sketchbook open and was studying Anti quietly, her pencil scratching across the paper. Eve sighed. If Mew was okay with it...

"_Anyway..._" The kitten glared at the phantom. "_Ho-oh is what you would call a puritan. Very picky, very set in his ideas of what is right and what is wrong. His duty is to preserve the integrity of the earth, and he takes it seriously..._"

Anti cut in. "_He told Mewtwo he was a mutant bastard of science, nothing but the hell spawn of humanity, and that he should burn eternally just for tainting the world with his presence._"

Eve felt herself choke on her milk about the same time she heard Ellie's pencil snap. Mew sighed. "_And do you remember what Mewtwo had called Ho-oh right before that little tirade?_"

"_I do,_" the ghostly Mew piped in cheerfully. "_It wasn't so much calling names, though, what he said was-_"

"_Either way, Mewtwo had it coming,_" the pink psychic snapped. "_Can we please change the subject? You're scaring Eve._"

"_I'm not scared,_" the clone mumbled, her mind racing in ways she didn't really want it to go. If one of the guardians had said that about Mewtwo, what would they think of _her_?

"_The fur on your shoulders is standing on end,"_ Mew informed her in a matter-of-fact tone. "_Now. Ho-oh-_"

"_Seriously needs to get his tail feathers untwisted, I'm telling you..._"

"_You're going to do this the entire time I talk about Ho-oh, aren't you?_" Anti nodded eagerly. "_Right. Onto Lugia, then. Lugia is the guardian of the seas, known for creating ocean currents when he swims, and he's... well... he's definitely a water bird, but I've also seen him launch some pretty impressive psychic attacks. Heck, I've seen him launch a lot of other things, too..._"

"_Like Groudon's ass, straight back into his little lava pit..._"

Mew looked Anti straight in the eye. "_I hate you._" The phantom preened. Ellie whined.

"I want to hear the story!"

"_That was a fun day..._"

Mew's chest heaved slightly. "_Actually, my memories of that one are kind of fond, too. But anyway. Lugia is more versatile than Ho-oh, and fortunately a bit less picky._"

"_Yeah, he just stood there glaring silently while Ho-oh was ranting._"

Mew sighed again and looked towards Eve. "_You've got to understand, Mewtwo didn't exactly make the best first impression. Actually, it was more along the lines of a very, very bad first impression. He was still in the middle of this really bad "I'm the strongest" phase he went through when he was younger-_"

"_And which he has yet to outgrow..._"

"_I get the feeling there are a lot of phases he has yet to outgrow,_" the larger psychic mumbled.

"_Anyway!_"

"This is educational in a really disturbing way," Ellie commented out of nowhere.

Mew pushed in. "_Another thing to note about Lugia is that he's a very powerful flyer. One flap of his wings can level a house, and it's even worse when he's taking off._"

"_I got hurt that way once..._"

"_You get hurt a lot of ways,_" Mew snapped, "_and as soon as I figure out how to cause you pain you're going to get hurt a whole lot worse!_"

"_You forgot to tell them about Ho-oh's obsessive compulsive disorder,_" Anti said innocently.

The conversation was dropped completely as Mew lunged at Anti with an angry sort of squeal, and Ellie and Eve forgot everything for laughing at the tiny legend's startled expression when she passed right through the phantom, her fur puffing up from the ice-water/lightening sensation. Eve smiled to herself. Her memories had no power over her, not when she had friends like this...


	46. Headache

Okay, guys, short chapter this round. I know, I know, it's been a whole month. Well... tough. The ANI has been busy preparing for an audio drama of Tales of Flame and hey, I got two one-shots up this month. The first piece is a fan tribute to Kayasuri-n's Sword and Shield stories, which are just awesome, and the second was brought about by me reading said stories and thinking about what the police really do. Equilibrium is not for the feint of heart, but I'm proud of it anyway. And it needs reviews. They both do. Gee, I love reviews...

Anyway, slow chapter this time, mainly because every so often I need a slow chapter here and there to prepare for things. Anyone who can tell me what I did for the start of the chapter gets hugs. Bit of foreshadowing in this one, but it's very, very subtle, and then we go into our legend for the day- Hoenn Chronicle's own little sweetheart, Jirachi! So let's go!

* * *

Jirachi, the Wish Pokemon 

Height- 1'0" Weight- 2.4 lbs

Jirachi wakes up for seven days once every thousand years to grant the wishes written on the tags on it's head. When it sleeps, it encases itself in a crystaline shell to protect it's body.

* * *

Right now, the best thing for ignoring her headache was definitely the sunlight. 

Eve closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth. The dull throbbing in her head seemed to be finally fading, and she felt rather grateful for it- now she could take the time to notice how nice it was outside. She'd gotten plenty of rest the night before and Ellie wasn't pulling her hair _too_ hard... "_Please tell me you're not braiding that again..._"

"It's the only way to keep the brushed parts out of the way. Now sit still," the child ordered. Eve raised an eyebrow. Bossy much? Still, it was too nice outside to get up and move, and she really had nowhere to go except maybe up a tree... she resigned herself with a sigh. If she was going to just sit here, she might as well let the human have her fun.

There was movement from the caves; Mewtwo had finally decided to join them. Their eyes met from across the clearing as he stepped into the light, his gaze deliberately seeking her out. For a moment, Eve found herself holding her breath; he was looking at her as though he were trying to see inside her again. Finally, their gazes still locked, he nodded his head once... and just turned away. The breath she was holding exhaled into a soft sigh; she wasn't sure whether she should be relieved or concerned. Why was it only in the morning that he ever looked at her like that? Why did he look at her like that at all? It made her feel like she was less than him somehow, just a puzzle he was slowly trying to solve as he studied her quietly. She hated that. Deciding that it wasn't worth the effort to frown over, she sighed to herself and cringed as Ellie attacked a tangle with her silver brush. That hurt...

She could feel him looking at her again. Eve blinked and raised her eyes towards her brother once more. No, he wasn't just watching her. His eyes had fallen on her and Ellie both this time, but his expression was too hard to read when he stood back in the shade. Eve sighed and stared steadily at him until he looked away again. Couldn't he see that the little girl was harmless yet? The clone fought back a scowl. It was hard to enjoy just doing nothing with Mewtwo's foul mood there to worry at her.

And speaking of things that worried at her... she chanced a glance at Mew. The kitten was resting on a rock, Anti by her side. After a good attempt at clouting Anti, Mew had told her and Ellie more about the mighty guardian Lugia, the way he made currents when he swam, the way a single great wing beat could call the winds, the way Pokémon and humans alike spoke of a haunting melody echoing from the deep. For once, Eve had had an image to go with the name- Lugia was the great white bird that Mew had become in the Sevii. Even Anti had become quiet, which led Eve to believe that he'd either gotten caught up in the story the same as they had, or that he might have actually had some respect for this guardian. Now the phantom was settling to sit next to Mew with a look of concern on his transparent features. It only took her an instant to see why.

Mew looked _hurt_.

Working free of Ellie's grasp despite protests from the human, Eve stood up and moved over to the rock. Anti looked up at her with a guarded expression as she spoke up. "_Mew? Is everything okay?_"

The kitten's head snapped up, an almost guilty look in her wayward eyes before she broke into a half-hearted smile. "_Nah, Eve, I'm perfectly fine. No worries, kiddo._" The smile broadened as though Mew were about to share a secret. "_I'm just thinking about your brother's stupidity, that's all._" Eve's eyes widened as she fought the urge to start laughing, but before she could tell Mew quite honestly that she'd been thinking the same thing she felt a rude tug at her hair. The psychic bit back a yelp.

"Sit back down!"

"_I don't want to sit down!_" Eve twisted, trying not to bat at Ellie with her tail as she turned. Darn it, the girl was behind her again, wasn't she? No, wait, brown curls to the left. Eve spun, trying to come up with some excuse for getting up like she had. "_My legs got stiff, I need to stand for a while._"

"I wasn't done yet, though." Ellie tugged her arm, trying to pull her down. "And you're too tall. I can't reach if you're standing!"

"_If you keep brushing it, there's not going to be any left!_" Eve fought to keep her tail still, the gesture costing her greatly as her balance failed. She staggered and fell to the grass with a heavy plunk. "_Ow..._"

"Now hold still, you big baby. I'm almost done." She could feel Ellie start to work on another braid again and groaned.

"_How many of those are you going to do?_"

"Until it's done," the human said cheerfully. Eve groaned again and looked up at Mew and Anti with her best 'help' expression. Mew shrugged apologetically, the corners of her tiny mouth twitching. Anti was even less help; he was openly laughing, especially when Ellie spoke up again. "You need a good conditioner."

"_Ellie,_" Eve said slowly, "_I'm a Pokémon. I don't need conditioner._"

"Yes, you do. I'll share mine, if you'd like."

The only reply Eve could muster up was a low whining sound...

* * *

He was beginning to hate the daylight. 

Mewtwo gave his head a brief shake. Sleeping had been a waste of time; he did not feel restored after the rest, not after the precise strain he had put his mind under the night before. The fact that he had felt the need to succumb to the inky blackness so easily annoyed him; sleep was supposed to be an escape, a chance to relax when things were not bearing down on him, not his primary method of recharging. He was not supposed to need it...

And how long was Evetwo going to allow that little human to paw at her like some sort of pet?

This weakness to children was a trait that reminded him of Mew, one that annoyed him to no end now that it was becoming apparent that the female had picked it up, too. From what he had seen in his observations of the world, human children were grabby little creatures that seemed to believe that they possessed anything that they could put their hands on. He would need to find some way to remind the girl that Evetwo was not just another Pokémon that she could take home if she pleased. It was probably best if he reminded Evetwo of that as well.

As he watched, both females raised their heads towards Mew. He was excluded from whatever the legend was saying, but he could tell from the way they both began to smile that it probably involved food. Evetwo actually seemed to settle a bit as the pink psychic darted off, the prospect of a meal- he was certain that was the case now- seeming to calm her. She sat back with a visible sigh, and her eyes met his. He let his gaze narrow. "_You should sit further back from the edge._"

"_We can't even see over the side of the cliff, though._" Of course she would not wish to move when he told her to... "_You should try sitting in the sun with us some time. It's nice._"

He scoffed lightly. "_I have never been fond of sitting in the open that way. It is not safe. You would be better off under the cover of the trees._"

"_You're paranoid,_" she chided in a slightly scolding tone that struck him as more condescending than anything else. "_Can't you tell if anyone is nearby?_"

"_And a fortunate thing that I can when you cannot,_" he snapped, beginning to grow irritable with her pointless bickering. Evetwo stared at him in silence for a moment before shrugging lightly.

"_Suit yourself. But it feels better over here._"

A scowl was the only reply he would allow himself. The female stared at him for a moment before shrugging again and turning away. It did not truly matter to her where he stood, so why did she insist on harassing him? The psychic gritted his teeth. He needed to go for a walk, get away from here, clear his mind. He turned, slipping into the trees. He could go a little way, at least, before he was no longer able to shield her psychic energy as well as his own. The second field should do nicely as long as Anti managed to keep Evetwo near the entrance of the cave.

This was the second day in a row he had woken up with a headache.

Making his way over to the large stone, the clone settled down and rested his head in his hands. Perhaps it had been her memories that had given him the headache, pouring over them as he had. It would explain why he had awoken with this pain for two days now, as though sleeping had drained him further instead of resting him. And yet he had to have gotten some rest as he was certain he had dreamed, even though he could not remember what the dream had been about. It was something of a shame. Mewtwo did not dream often...

* * *

"Anti, tell us a story." 

Eve blinked at Ellie's request, following the child's gaze over to the ghostly Mew sunning himself on a rock. Well, sunning in so much as he was flipped on his back with his feet in the air; she doubted he could really feel the sun... and she was pretty sure his tail was actually in the rock... the phantom's ears flicked, and he sat up. "_Come again, kid?_"

"Tell us a story," the human girl repeated with pleading eyes. "Please?"

The gray figure raised a transparent eyebrow. "_You mean I do my best to traumatize you two kids and you're actually asking for a story?_"

"Your stories are interesting," Ellie said in her usual serious tone. Anti stared at her, crossed his eyes, and stared some more. "Please?" the child asked again, drawing out the 'e' in classic beggar's fashion. Anti relented.

"_Who do you want to hear about?_"

Ellie thought about it for a moment. Eve watched her for a few seconds before flopping onto her side in the grass. That felt nice. Maybe she could take a nap, catch up on all the sleep that no one seemed to want to let her get. She had done her good deed for the day, trying to coax Mewtwo into the sunlight just this once, and it hadn't been her fault he'd said no. At the very least she was entitled to just rest. Ellie nodded suddenly. "Tell us about the Wishing Star!"

The other see-through eyebrow arched upwards. "_Jirachi, huh?_" Ellie's brown curls bobbed wildly as she answered with an enthusiastic nod. Anti appeared thoughtful for a moment before smiling a strange, crooked little smile. "_I can do that. I can tell you about Jirachi._"

Eve blinked and sat back up. Anti's whole attitude had just shifted, almost like a switch had been flipped, and she wasn't sure if it was a good switch or a bad switch. The phantom settled down half-way into his rock and looked towards the sky. "_Of all the legends you could ever hope to meet, Jirachi is probably the kindest. She lives on the moon, where it's safest, and spends most of her time asleep, waking for only a week or so once in a millennium unless there's a dire emergency..._"

The story already sounded fishy, and for once Ellie cut in before Eve could. "So how does she get anything done?" Not the question Eve had planned to ask- she had seen Jirachi herself, hadn't she? But it would do...

"_That's the neat thing,_" Anti confided. "_Jirachi has some special skills that let her work regardless of her location. Jirachi is a master of astral projection, the ability to travel in a spirit form when she sleeps. It's easiest for an astral form to communicate with someone in their dreams, so if she wants to talk to anybody, that's usually how she does it. But she's also capable of generating a psychic illusion at will, just in case her target is a major insomniac or something. So she can talk to anyone she needs to."_

"_And the rest of her abilities?_" Eve flipped her tail through the grass. It couldn't hurt to ask, as Anti seemed to actually be trying to be nice for a change. It was kind of scary...

"_Jirachi can use almost every ability she has long distance,_" Anti said with a nod. "_The only real problem is that it takes a moment for a few of the things she's doing on the moon to fully take effect here, so many of her abilities, such as the ability to heal others or drop a meteor on someone's head, take a little bit of time. I guess you could say Jirachi's a firm believer in the old saying, 'good things come to those who wait.' It can be a little bit of a patience game with her._"

Okay, it was very scary. Eve eyed Anti speculatively. Was it possible to take a ghost's temperature? Ellie was twirling one curl around her finger thoughtfully. "So if Jirachi sleeps for so long, then how does she not waste away?"

"_That's another useful skill she has._" Anti stretched, sinking a little further into the rock, before catching himself and rising back to the surface. "_When Jirachi sleeps, she becomes housed in a sort of crystal shell. It puts her body in a kind of stasis, although she does have a monster of an appetite when she wakes up._" The phantom grinned. "_I'll tell you what, the stuff Jirachi eats would put the average Pokémon into shock, too._"

That was too interesting a bait not to grab. "_What's she eat?_"

"_Simply put?_" The ghostly Mew laughed. "_Sugar. Jirachi eats anything with high quantities of sugar in it, or has even been known to eat the actual cane itself. A lot of the legendaries joke that it's all that sugar that makes her so sweet._"

Enough was enough. Eve stared at the phantom, the tip of her tail slapping the grass. "_You like her, don't you._"

"_Honestly, I think everyone does. I think Jirachi is about the one legendary that all the rest get along with._" Now that had _not_ been the impression Eve had gotten from Mew in the Sevii. She stared at the kitten skeptically.

"_No, you like her,_" she repeated, emphasizing the word 'like' for added effect. This time the ghost seemed to understand. His eyes went wide, and Eve and Ellie both got a few moments to enjoy the strange sight of a ghost sputtering for air.

"_Young lady,_" he finally managed to snap, "_that is not something you say to your elders!_"

And try as both she and the human girl might, they couldn't get Anti to say another word about Jirachi.


	47. Something Not Right

Well, here's another chapter... after one helluva hiatus. I guess I'd better explain things, ne? Lately, I've been feeling like I've lost touch with my characters and my ability to write. I haven't been satisfied with the last few chapters, how they've sounded, how they've felt, and I've been stalling on writing until I could figure out what was wrong. And stalling... and stalling...

The good news is, I think I've found the problem and I've been working on another project to help me get in the flow of things. I figure I'll be able to start cranking out chapters again in the next few weeks or so, once said project is completed. The bad news is... Buwaro couldn't wait that long for an update.

I think you know where this is going.

Devoted ANI fans probably remember the time Buwaro got writer's block and I did the chapter, right? Well, HE remembers it... and when I basically put Anomaly on a shelf until I could do it right again he decided that wouldn't work. He took what I had written so far and he... erm... finished the chapter. That's right. A fair-sized chunk of this chapter is written by our favorite wise-cracking Brit, whom I think secretly just wanted to have a stab at the Celebi legend...

So here's the challenge- can you guys tell where I stopped and he started?

Or are you all going to be too busy laughing at Anti to care?

Also, I feel too lazy to do the Pokedex entry this time around. We all know who we're dealing with anyway, right? Gods, I hope so...

So let's go!

_Will you just get on with it?_

Shut up, Buwaro.

_You'll be taking my milk money next..._

* * *

There had to be some sort of explanation for what she was seeing right now.

Nope, couldn't think of one.

Eve stared, still not daring to comprehend what she was looking at. She had hoped to find a few minutes alone to herself, slipping off to the second clearing with the poorly thought out excuse that she needed some air. Well, she did need some air, or at least some room. How could just two other beings be so stifling? And so she had made off on her own, hoping to find some sort of peace... and there was Mewtwo. There was Mewtwo, _sleeping_, sitting on her rock in the middle of her favorite spot, _in the middle of the day_.

He was asleep, right? He couldn't be asleep out here, he wasn't that stupid. Even _she_ wasn't that stupid. It was the height of the afternoon, the shadows just starting to lengthen towards sundown. And besides, Mewtwo didn't drop his guard like that. Who slept sitting up, anyway? True, his head and shoulders were relaxed to the point that she thought he might tip over, but still... he couldn't be asleep... It wasn't worth wondering for the rest of her life. Eve slipped closer. His eyes were closed, his expression was mostly relaxed, that had to be the giveaway right there. No, his brow was slightly creased, as though he was worrying over something. A person couldn't worry in their sleep. Then again, this was Mewtwo. Knowing him, he probably could. She crept closer still, hunching down slightly to peer upwards at his face. He looked asleep.

What was that noise?

Eve's ears practically twitched as she became aware of the sound. It seemed to be a soft grumbling of some sort, a low rumble that she could barely hear. Something in the woods? She reached out mentally, trying to find some other Pokémon hidden in the trees. There was nothing there... which meant... no, that couldn't be right. She inched closer still to her sleeping brethren, her tail flicking lightly. Couldn't be, wouldn't be, nope, nope, in denial. She was already up to the rock now, but still unable to really believe that the soft sound was really coming from him. Was it? She wasn't sure she could even hear it any more. No, there it was, if she leaned in close she could hear it. Crouching down low with her hands resting on the rock she tipped her head, listening closely. It _was_ him, and it was coming from his throat like any normal sound should. She leaned just a little bit more, until she could practically feel his breath on her ear. Not quite a growl, not quite a purr, what did that noise mean? He hadn't been doing anything like this the last time she had seen him sleeping. Was he dreaming or something? Was he...

Wait a minute, did the noise just stop?

Eve's whole body tensed as slowly, slowly she turned her head. Ah, damn, ah, damn, ah, damn, damn, damn! Her muscles betrayed her, freezing up just as Mewtwo began to open his eyes. Frantic, she managed to start scrambling backwards just as his gaze focused, his eyes meeting hers. Oh, bloody... she saw them widen in surprise... and then the next thing she knew, she was skidding backwards across the ground much faster than she had intended to. Eve yelped, scrambling for anything she could grab a hold of before she finally slowed to a stop. Mewtwo was already on his feet. "_Just what do you think you are doing?_"

The first solid words she could grasp were probably not the best ones she could have picked. "_I was just listening!_"

"_Listening to what,_" Mewtwo snapped, advancing towards her. She saw his tail lash behind him. Not a good sign... Of course, she couldn't just lie to him, either. She had to take a chance on the truth, then. She tried to keep her voice level.

"_You were making some sort of noise. I wanted to know what it was._"

His eyes narrowed. "_Nonsense! I was doing no such thing!_"

Did he just... he just basically called her a liar! Eve felt her own temper starting to spiral dangerously. "_How the hell would you know,_" she yelled, "_You were asleep!_"

That seemed to stop him in his tracks. "_Do not be foolish, I would not-_"

She cut him off. "_Then how did I get right up next to you without you noticing me?_"

Mewtwo's eyes widened. Whether or not he believed her was now down to his pride. He could either admit that he had been sleeping, or contend that yes, she had actually snuck up on him when he had been awake. And if Eve knew Mewtwo at all, the idea that she could creep up on him, literally in his face, without him noticing would be too much. He would have to admit that he had been sleeping. Which, knowing him, would make him an entirely different sort of mad altogether...

Mewtwo turned away from her abruptly. "_You will speak of this to no one,_" he practically growled, a heavy threat evident in his voice. Eve stared at his back, taking a moment to note the way the tip of his tail was twitching. Common sense would dictate that she just left the conversation as it was- over. And yet she had the strongest urge to tease...

"If you two are arguing again I'm going to wring all four of your necks."

Both of the larger psychics turned towards the unexpected input, which in Eve's case meant being pelted in the forehead with some small object. She blinked as it landed on the ground with a soft crinkling sound, Mew re-adjusting the plastic bags hanging from her tail. "You were supposed to catch that," the kitten quipped as the clone let herself slowly bend down for the thrown item. A clear plastic wrapper crunched around a small brown crescent, and it took Eve a moment to dredge up a memory to go with the strangely-shaped food thing- fighting with chopsticks, a crisp snapping sound, a slip of paper... fortune cookie. Mew had bunged a fortune cookie at her head. Her eyes widened and she glanced towards the bags hopefully, breathing in deeply. She could _smell_ it! Mew beamed, drifting closer. "I happen to know this great little place in Vermillion. The city had some trouble a while back, but they managed to get this excellent Chinese restaurant up and running again pretty quickly. Had to feed the hoards somehow."

Mewtwo made a soft 'hn' noise- not vocal, she noticed- and turned away. "_We need to have a talk about your influence,_" he commented to the tiny legend as he began to walk away, "_I have enough problems with her stealing things without you compounding the problem._"

The kitten stared for a moment before sticking her tongue out at Mewtwo's tail as it disappeared into the trees. "Better my influence than yours. I left money for the food!"

Eve could hear Mewtwo's reply even though they could hardly see him any more. "_And where did you acquire the money?_"

Mew ignored him, turning her attention to Eve. "I take it you want to eat this, huh, kiddo?" The bag was practically under her nose by now, and she could just differentiate between the different scents. Meat, noodles, exotic sauces. It was worth being called a kid, to nod, if Mew would open the bags that much faster. The kitten's laughter greeted her suddenly, and the clone realized with a start that Mew had been waving the meal back and forth and watching her follow it with her eyes. She looked up at Mew sheepishly, and the kitten laughed harder. "Come on. Let's go see where your little human friend is, and I won't ask what you two were about to get in a fight over this time."

"_Wasn't a fight,_" Eve mumbled as she followed along after the pink cat. Technically it wasn't a lie, the psychic decided. It had almost been a fight, but she didn't think they'd gotten quite loud enough. Mew glanced over her shoulder, and Eve knew with absolute certainty that the kitten was about to read her mind. Well... it was worth a shot. The larger psy half closed her eyes, focusing on that barrier...

Mew almost flew into a tree. "How did you learn that?!"

It was the tone of someone who thought some crime had been committed. Eve stopped warily. Had she done something wrong? One of Mew's ears twitched as she waited for an answer- an answer that Eve decided it would be less trouble to just give. "_Mewtwo taught me to do it. He said it would help protect my memories._"

Mew met her gaze with a level stare, and for a moment Eve was afraid that the pink tail would relax and drop the bags. "How long did it take you to learn to do that?"

The question caught her off guard. Wouldn't it have been more like Mew to be concerned about the how instead of the how long? Eve shifted her feet, trying to ignore the smell from the bags. "_He taught me last night and the night before. He said I had to learn fast..._" She trailed off. Mew's eyes almost looked a shade darker than usual. "_Did I do it wrong?_"

The legend blinked and shook her head, her expression lightening suddenly. It seemed forced somehow. "You did it fine, kiddo. It just startled me is all." The tip of that long tail twitched, and Eve watched it warily lest Mew dropped the bags. The kitten rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go eat. I can already see you're going to go crazy if we wait much longer."

And Mew didn't say another word about the barrier.

It was fortunate that Eve was watching the bags, as Mew came close to dropping them when they reached the clearing. Her tail drooped, the food coming within inches of falling, stopping only when they reached the bump at the end of the long appendage. The feline froze up at the edge, while Eve scrambled to take the bags before they slid off of the kitten's tail.

And then she saw the reason Mew had froze. Anti. The phantom was floating around Ellie's head, the young girl's curls bouncing slightly as she giggled at the story he was telling.

"And then she looks up at me, wide-eyed innocence, absolutely covered in cream, and she says two words, '_I missed._'"

"Poor Eve," Ellie shook her head, although she was still laughing.

Eve's eyes snapped up from the warm bags she held, staring out at the two of them. She did not remember that. She would remember that if it happened. Mew looked just as puzzled.

"What are you on about?" The pink kitten asked, Anti's ears flicking at the noise.

"Just telling little Ellie here about how Eve ended up in a cream tanker when she first tried to teleport."

Now that definitely did not happen, Eve hadn't even thought about Teleport, it looked tricky. Besides, she was having enough trouble trying to Transform! Anti was giving her a knowing look, his transparent grey eyes almost sparkling in the light, before he smirked, the cocky expression looking so alien on his rather cute appearance. It was only then she felt the slight tingle in the back of her mind...

"Aww, you find us cute." Mew smirked across at her, tail flicking, causing the bags to rustle and cutting off any protest that Eve could think of.

All she could think about was food, glorious food. Food being held, tantalizingly, just out of her reach. Mew turned to face her, the movement taking the bags even further away from her, the kitten looking oddly serious, "Mewtwo was napping?"

"_You found out about that part, then?_" Eve practically mumbled, wait, why was she feeling guilty? She hadn't done anything wrong. She had just happened to find him asleep, she couldn't get told off for that, right? Right?

Mew looked about to say something when the rustle of the bags started up again, as Anti made off with them, prompting an indignant yelp from the pink kitten, and a tiny growl to escape from Eve's own throat, one she hoped no one heard, as the psychic kitten gave chase after his ghostly counterpart, who was laughing his merry head off as he twisted and turned through the air, letting Mew almost catch up before putting on a burst of speed or veering off in a different direction, usually straight up or down.

Even though Anti had stolen her food, Eve couldn't help but find the whole thing rather amusing. Watching Mew shoot over, and occasionally through, Anti as the phantom evaded any chance at capture reminded her of an innocent game of tag.

In fact, the laughing, teasing, playful phantom was a rather startling contrast to the disheartened, lonely one she had seen the night before. How was it that he was able to change so suddenly? Was it something from his world, or from being in this one? The thoughts were making her head hurt, although her stomach was starting to ache for an entirely different reason.

Luckily, Mew wasn't falling for Anti's tricks and turns as much anymore, and was managing to gain on the, manically giggling, phantom. In fact, Mew stopped aiming for Anti, and was going to the bag of food, she was going to rip it out of his paws. Until Anti suddenly took off, vertical.

And he did it mere moments before hitting a tree, racing up the trunk before zooming off the way he came. Mew, however, did not react so quickly. Eve winced, Ellie recoiled, even Anti seemed to flinch as the pink kitten hit solid bark with enough force that the wood seemed to splinter.

The group was pointedly avoiding Anti's gaze as they unpacked the food, Mew nursing a bleeding nose, holding a tissue to it, one that Ellie had been nice enough to share from a box of them she had in her bag. Did the girl have anything actually relevant to exploring in there? Like a map, or even a sleeping bag?

The phantom stayed silent, sticking to the other side of the clearing, mainly so he could look over the Mew-sized imprint in the tree bark. But, none of that mattered to Eve, there it was, finally, glorious food!

Food that, really, did not look that easy to eat. Eve recognized the messy items inside the small box handed to her, noodles. They smelled good, and she remembered them tasting pretty good too. She even remembered the small wooden sticks she was given as well, chopsticks, she was supposed to use them to pick up the noodles.

However, in her memories, she'd never been that good with them. This was going to be tricky. She looked up, trying to be discreet, Ellie and Mew seemed to be dealing with it okay, the former scarfing down the food at a speed that could not be healthy. She ignored the kitten, focusing instead on Ellie, the way the girl was holding the sticks to pick up and hold the stringy food.

Okay, she could do that. No problem. She moved the sticks around a bit, managed to hook some of the food, which promptly fell out. Okay, maybe she couldn't do it… Eve risked another glance, making a couple of adjustments to the chopsticks and tried again.

Same thing happened. Her hands actually prevented her from mimicking Ellie's stance exactly, making it nearly impossible for her to eat with them. Luckily, she figured out a way around that.

She noticed Mew staring as she started using her telekinesis to pick up the strings. The kitten smiled slightly, not the mocking grin that she was expecting, or one that seemed forced, but the warm smile that she would expect from a sister.

Eve managed to finish the noodles without any further incident, actually managing to end up cleaner than her two companions. Ellie had dropped a few noodles on her lap, while Mew had gotten the box stuck on her head when she had tipped it upside down in order to get at the last of the food.

If that wasn't absurd enough, Mew hadn't panicked or struggled to remove the box. She just sat there, in midair, with this box on her head. Eve wasn't even going to ask. Ellie moved to, but Anti just hovered in front of the girl and shook his head.

"_Don't even ask. While she's in there, she's not causing trouble._" The Phantom's telepathy was clear, with only the slightest edge to it, evidently so Mew could not hear what was being said. "_Now, seeing as I've been bored sitting around watching you eat, and Mew can't butt in for the moment, who wants another story?_"

Ellie's hand immediately shot up, while Eve just nodded. A story sounded nice, especially if it allowed her a way to quiz Anti about Mew, and maybe even his own world.

"_Now, who to do…_" Anti paced back and forth in the air, while Mew finally pulled the box off of her head, tilting her head to scratch behind her ear with a footpaw. Ellie, surprisingly, managed to resist crooning over the display of cute, focused single-mindedly on getting her story out of Anti, as she reached into her bag and produced the notepad, and another pencil.

The Human seemed to be flicking though the pages, trying to figure out which Legendaries were left, while Eve stretched slightly in the grass, her tail swishing lazily. The breeze was warm, maybe after the story she'd go take a nap.

"Celebi!" Ellie spoke up finally, only to find three sets of eyes staring at her.

Eve's, one of confusion, as she tried to remember that name. She'd heard it before, and not from that legend in the book Ellie had. Mew's look was one of abstract horror, as though she couldn't believe that anyone would suggest such a being. And Anti just chuckled to himself.

"_Celebi, huh?_" He asked, Mew's stare turning upon him, even as Ellie nodded, her curls bouncing slightly with the motion, "_I can do that._"

"You can't!" Mew insisted, sticking to mewling so Ellie couldn't understand. Eve just watched her sister, trying to figure out why the kitten seemed so adamant to avoid talking about this Celebi. Was this like with Jirachi? And, if it was, did that mean that Eve could tease Anti about a crush?

"_Now, here's the thing with Celebi, he's the third Higher Power, with me-_" Anti paused, shoulders slumping slightly as he sighed, "_with Mew and Jirachi._" So that was where Eve'd heard the name before, she remembered now, Ryuu and Mewtwo had mentioned the name… hang on, wasn't that the one who the ghostly lizard said was gunning for them?

"_Anti. Stop!_" Mew was practically growling, Eve could even see pointed fangs. There was something wrong with her, as though a switch had been flipped. The kitten's body was tense, her tail wasn't flicking through the air, the motion was more like a lash. The thought of it being like a whip made Eve wince, having to fight to keep focused on the things being said instead of her own thoughts..

"_I've started, so I'll finish._" Anti insisted, almost pacing though the air, avoiding Mew's gaze. "_Celebi, is the least lenient of the three of us… them._"

"_That's an understatement and a half,_" Mew 'muttered', Eve was actually rather creeped out. Anti was being serious again, and Mew was just being scary. Enough so that Eve actually found herself edging away, wincing as the pink tail lashed through the air again.

"And he's the keeper of time?" Ellie asked, oblivious to the sudden change in attitudes of the psychic kittens, as she sat there with the notebook open in her lap, chewing on her pencil slightly as she watched Anti.

"_More the keeper of a certain part of time. And he takes that duty pretty seriously,_" Anti paused, scratching behind his ear as he smirked slightly,"_well, the two I know have._"

"There are two?!" Now the pencil was racing across the paper, could she even read what she was writing? Eve could barely make out the pencil markings, and she was practically reading over Ellie's shoulder!

"_Different story. There's only the one that you have to write about. And, I will admit, that I'm not too familiar with him, so I suppose we'll start with what I know for a fact he can do._"

"But who's the other?" Ellie actually tilted her head slightly. Eve already figured out the answer, Anti had to be talking about the Celebi in his world…

"_Different place in time, not at all relevant to that book you plan on writing._"

"But-" Ellie insisted, rapidly being cut off.

"_If you don't want to listen to the story, then fine. I'll go elsewhere._" The see-through kitten turned his back on the Human girl, who was looking awfully flustered at the chance of losing her story.

"_Anti, tell the story,_" Eve sighed, although she did want to know more about this Higher Power…

It was rather creepy, actually, the way Anti's ghostly form seemed to become thinner, more transparent, allowing Eve to actually see the way that he slowly started to grin, through the back of his head! Even Ellie seemed to go pale, the little kid retreating a little further away from the undead kitten as he laughed, form returning to its usual state.

"_I doubt that I'll ever get tired of the Cheshire cat trick,_" the phantom spoke, and at least this time all Eve could do was imagine that he was rolling his eyes, instead of actually seeing it through him. She felt queasy at the thought…

Then, she noticed something. Anti's laugh was much different to Mew's. His was harder, harsher, much more indignant, compared to Mew's lighter giggles. It was odd, seeing how two beings who were essentially the same person, and she still had to find out how that worked, were so different.

"_Celebi, then,_" Anti raised his gaze to the sky, still not turning back, his voice still had that hardened sound to it, it sounded rather like how Scyther and Mewtwo spoke, hiding their emotions behind a blank tone, "_he's definitely one of the lesser-known legendaries. Mainly because he rarely directly gets involved with matters, preferring to stay behind the scenes. Which comes, partially, from his whole role in the grand scheme in things._"

"Watching over time?" Ellie asked, pausing in her scribbling for just a moment, watching the phantom with wide eyes.

"_I'm not entirely sure on the specifics, but that just about sums it up, yeah. Anyway, back to the point. He doesn't like getting involved because, being essentially timeless, him getting involved when he doesn't have to would actually mess with the fated timeline._"

"I just think he's a lazy git…" Mew growled under her breath, Ellie being thankfully oblivious to what was being said.

"Timeless?" She asked, Eve wanting to know that one too, it didn't make any sense…

"_Immortal. Doesn't follow the normal path of time, doesn't age, doesn't sicken or decay._" Now, this time, both of the feline's shoulders actually slumped, both kitten's tails going limp for a split second, both being effected by those words, or memories, the same way…

"_So he can't die?_" Eve asked, thinking back of the phantom's words. They had sounded sincere, and old. How old?

"_He can't age or get sick. In theory, you could still kill him. However, he's practically impossible to take down in that regard too._" He managed to smile again, finally turning to face them, "_He can recover from anything. And I don't mean the move Recover. His body just heals at an insane speed on its own. It makes up for his lack of raw firepower._"

"He's not strong?" Ellie frowned, "Legendaries are supposed to be stronger than anything else!"

"_By our standards, he's weak. In a straight fight, just about any other legendary would wipe the floor with him. Problem is, with that healing ability, and his uncanny knack of reading things, it's very rare that you get the chance to take him in a straight fight. He's a tricky one, that much is for certain… But, that's enough about that subject, let's move onto Celebi himself, okay?_"

"Okay…" the human girl seemed a little reluctant, while Mew actually sighed in relief. Eve wasn't sure what to think, did she want to know what this thing was capable of, or what it was like? She couldn't tell.

"_Celebi, well, he's often called the Fairy of Fate, or the Holy Paladin, depending on which age of mythology you are looking in. That's because he's very much focused on keeping the world balanced, saving things that he believes need to survive, destroying things that do not._"

"_Of course, his ideals of right and wrong are messed up,_" Mew spat, telepathically this time, Ellie lowering her pencil to look across at the kitten, while Eve just stared. Something, but she couldn't figure out what, was starting to make sense, two memories, recent ones this time, were starting to fit together. Ryuu's statement about Celebi, and Mew's arrival… was it possible?

Mew was looking right back at her, blue eyes almost dull and shielded, before they darkened further, as her fur puffed up slightly, lip curling back in a snarl. It scared Eve, and Ellie too, if the girl's whimper was any indication.

"_Anti,_" it was an order, a harsh demand, "_get Eve and Ellie back into the caves. Now!_"

"Wh-" the phantom started to protest, before his own eyes flickered, they were sensing something. Eve reached out with her own mind, trying to find it, whatever _it_ was. There was the sense of confusion coming from Ellie, and the faint cold-mental touch of Anti's mind, but Mew was shielded, as was whatever was coming.

"_Mew?_" She decided to try and ask, protest, or something!

"Go to the caves," the kitten turned away, looking towards the trees, her voice stern.

"_Why?! What is it?_"

"Nothing you need to worry about," the kitten's tone softened slightly, almost managing to sound comforting, but there was an underlying tiredness to her… Eve didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit, and she was going to point that out, when she felt Anti's tail wrap around her arm.

The sudden ice-cold sensation caught her completely off guard, almost freezing her as she felt an odd tugging feeling in the back of her mind, no, her soul. All turned white for the briefest moment, before the light faded and she blinked, trying to clear her vision.

She was in her room. Ellie was beside her, also looking stunned and confused.

"How'd we get here?" The girl mumbled, rubbing at her eyes slightly.

"_Short range teleport,_" Anti sighed, floating towards the entrance, turning back just as Eve moved to follow, "_And you are staying right here._"

"_Why? Why should I stay?_"

"_So you don't get caught in the crossfire._" The phantom stated, bluntly, emotionlessly. "You leave, you'll get hurt."

"_What about Mew!_" Eve was practically shouting by this point, how could they expect her to just sit around while the kitten could be in danger! She should be helping, not hiding in some cave. Anti just glared at her, the phantom's eyes almost glowing, Eve froze in place, expecting to be thrown across the room or pinned to the wall, or anything…

She didn't expect the sigh, the soft, defeated sigh. "Mew can handle herself. I hope."


	48. Blatant Scene Change

First of all, this chapter was supposed to be longer. A LOT longer. Only somehow the data sitting there on my disk corrupted in the two seconds it took to take it to another computer, and... well... this was all I had backed up without leaving one PoV chopped in half.

Hey, look, I updated!

I know, I know, I could have gone back and re-wrote, but I rather wanted to get this up today. The reason? As of yesterday, Anomaly is two years old! I know, I know, I haven't done a lot in this past year... but I have reasons for that. For one thing, as of July 9th, I'm engaged. Some of you know about my boyfriend, whom I dubbed Ray and based a character off of... and if you all don't remember who that is, you will in a moment. Well, I went to visit Ray this summer, and while I was there (the best eight days of my life) he proposed. He took me to a restaraunt by a river at sunset, got down on one knee, and asked me to marry him in the sweetest way. I said yes.

We then stood up and realized that every single person in that restaraunt was standing at the windows applauding... and we had to then go in there and eat. Oi.

But the news isn't all good. When I got home... well... things were worse than ever. It was so bad, in fact, that my biological mother and my fiance's mother decided I needed to get out of there- fast. And so the last two months of my life have been consumed by moving. I'll be up in Oregon for a while, until next summer when I can move to Delaware. I have less than a week and a half left in California, and honestly I would be looking forward to the move if I had made the decision myself, but... well... at least I'm getting out, right? Fortunately, I'll be able to do a lot more writing once I get to Oregon- I'll be unemployed for a good two or three weeks. Look for more updates in less than two months, I promise!

Now, about the chapter itself. After the pickle Buwaro stuck me in with the last update, well, I didn't exactly know what to do... so I rather took one of his methods and blatantly ripped it off. Scene change, anyone?

Okay, one more piece of business before I forget- Buwaro and I are having a mini-fic contest and letting the readers take the reigns with our characters. Now where are those rules... Okay, I'll just quote Buwaro here.

_-Ficlet stuff, those who don't give a crap can continue onto reading the Episode-_

_Anyway, about the ficlet thing I was going on about. To reiterate, incase you weren't paying attention during 268/269/whenever-the-hell-I-brought-it-up. Essentially, me and Aeris are letting you all loose with the ANI cast (including the Hoenn Chronicles lot, if you wish to give that dead-fic a quick cattle-prod up the backside) to write whatever the hell you want. We don't really have prizes as of yet, but the best will definitely get something._

_Oh, and, by the ANI cast, that includes the NQDS/Legendary-War/whatever lot too, so you can play with Kit, Aodh, Artemis or whoever. Crossovers within the ANI, whatever you want._

_Anyway, how you do this is easy. First you open a word processor of some kind, then you wr- sorry, couldn't help that one. Essentially, once you have written the ficlet (it has to be at least five hundred words, so about a third of a usual ToF Episode. But if you want to write something over three-thousand words then you can too, as long as it's more than five hundred.) then you just upload it to this site. Then just drop me/Aeris a PM through our profiles, or mention it in a review, just so we know it exists. Remember, URLs don't work on here, so hotlinking in the PM/Review won't work, so just let us know the title and we'll dig it up using the search feature._

_We'll then slip it into the ANI c2 so that I don't lose it and, after about a month, month and a half, then we'll go through them all and pick our favorites, although I'll guarrenty that every entry'll get some pretty hefty praise/squeeing. And, hopefully, some sort of actual reward for being an awesome fan of our work instead of merely our gratitude/thanks and a rib crushing glomp from the soon-to-be Mrs Avalon._

_Anyway, that's how you do this thing._

* * *

_Now, naturally, there are ground rules._

_No hate/bashing fics - Self explainatory. Although it'd take a special brand of moron to sent a ficlet torturing/bashing a character to the authors of said characters..._

_Try not to go overboard on the OCs - Okay, I know that forbidding them completely is silly, seeing as I'm sure you all want to throw someone up against something to see what happens. This one just means try not to swarm the story with them in any other capacity other than cannon fodder._

_Keep it tasteful - Well, this is just there because I have to say it. Simply, stick within this site's rules for what you can/can't do and this is pretty much covered._

At least that's how he put it. Sounds simple, ne? We do have a few entries so far, but as of yet the Anomaly cast has been spared. The Tales of Flame crew, on the other hand... well...

Now I gotta go resist the urge to point out to Bu that Ray's last name online is Makai...

Anyway, let's see you guys do some writing while I re-write what I lost from this chapter. So let's go!

* * *

Honestly, Poochie wished they were back in Viridian.

Viridian had been nice.

He'd gotten to see Vulpix-chan again in Viridian.

Viridian was definitely better than this...

"I don't want to get into that."

Ray-friend sighed as Buwaro-master stared at the elevator. "It's not going to hurt you, Bu."

"I don't care. I'll take the stairs." Poochie could feel his trainer starting to get nervous. He always did this with small spaces. Sighing softly himself, the canine reached up to lick at his trainer's hand. Lots of Pokémon and people had fears, and this was his master's. He knew that there was nothing wrong with it, but it still made him worried. Buwaro-master knuckled at his ears gently. "I went along with your little cave to get to and from Viridian from Vermilion. I even took the subway to Celadon without complaining. I've done my part. I'm not getting on a lift."

"You're getting on the elevator." The doors in the wall slid open, and Ray-friend caught Poochie's trainer by the elbow. "Come on."

"Don't make me hit you with the dictionary again!"

Somehow, despite the struggling, Ray-friend managed to get Buwaro-master onto the elevator. Poochie popped in next to him as the doors began to close, his tail wagging. Maybe if he could make Buwaro-master think this was fun...

"Hold the elevator!" There was something familiar about the female voice as the girl dashed towards the lift, but Ray-friend certainly didn't seem to place it as he hit the doors to keep them from closing. The brunette dashed onto the elevator, coming to a panting stop as the one way out closed behind her while her Eevee nudged at her ear. "Thanks, I almost missed..."

If the sudden yelp from the girl and the shout from Ray-friend were any indication, they all noticed at the same time. The Eevee jumped down from her trainer's shoulder, her fluffy collar puffing outwards. "You!" The word came from about three voices at once. Ray-friend jumped back, his hands immediately falling to the Pokeballs on his belt, but the Eevee trainer made no move to call her team as the elevator dinged and then lurched upwards. "You have got to be kidding me. You two idiots again?"

"You interfered with our catch back in Jhoto!" The blonde boy looked ready to fight, but the brown-haired girl only rolled her eyes.

"Please. How did you actually think you were going to catch that Pokémon? Once she figured out how to fight your Poochyena, it would have all been over. I just saved you from a worse beating."

"You don't know that," the more vocal teen snapped. Poochie frowned; Buwaro-master was being oddly quiet. A glance confirmed that while his trainer was standing at the ready, one hand on Kipper-san's Pokeball, his face was an ashen white. They had to get him out of this elevator...

There was a soft growl from the Eevee. "Don't you know to always keep an eye on your opponents?" The canine flinched, but a reply wouldn't come to him. How could he say it? He couldn't betray his trainer's weakness. He could not do that. He opened his mouth to fumble for some sort of reply, but a low mechanical whine caught his ears... and everything went dark.

The elevator was immediately filled with yells. Ray-friend and the Eevee trainer began to shout a mix of cries of "what the hell happened" and angry accusations, but both fell silent as Buwaro-master howled. "Turn them back on! Turn them back on!" There was a soft thump from where Ray-friend had been standing, a confused sound from towards the doors, and then three seconds or so of silence before the Eevee trainer spoke again.

"What the hell is his problem?!"

"Small, dark spaces are not his thing!" Poochie could feel his master's friend moving closer. "Come on, buddy, calm down. It's probably just a small power failure. We'll get the lights back soon."

"I am never getting on a lift again! Poochie! Poochie, where'd you go?" Poochie yipped slightly to let the youth know he was there. The canine heard an effeminate sigh.

"Hang on a second, I've got a flashlight." The dark-type's sensitive ears picked up what had to be a zipper, and then a rustling sound as the girl trainer rummaged through her bag. "Got it." There was a click, and then sweet, sweet light... light that almost blinded the small dog, whose eyes had adjusted quickly. After blinking a few times Poochie found he could see his trainer again, huddled against the wall. The Eevee-girl stared. "You afraid of the dark or something?"

"He's claustrophobic," Ray-friend muttered as he dropped into a crouch next to his partner. "Hey, come on, man. It's alright."

"We are stuck on a lift in the dark! Don't you dare tell me it's alright!"

The girl rolled her eyes, walking over to the doors. Pressing an ear against them, she frowned. "Nothing. I think we're caught between floors."

"Oh, god!" Poochie jumped into his trainer's lap before he could panic further. The black-haired boy clung to him tight, Poochie's efforts doing little to calm him. "You don't mean that. You can't mean that. We are not stuck on a lift in the dark with no way out!"

Ray-friend practically hissed. "Did you have to say that?" The female trainer scowled.

"All I said was that we were caught. I never said there was no way out." Grunting, the girl tried to force the doors open. "Would you get up and help me already? If we're close to a landing, we might be able to get the doors open to the next floor!"

To Poochie's surprise, his trainer's companion actually got up. It took a moment of struggling, but he and the human girl actually got the door open a few inches... only to reveal solid brick. "Well, there goes that idea..."

"We're going to die..."

"We are not going to die." The brunette sighed and settled to the floor, her Eevee jumping into her lap. "We're going to be just fine."

"They don't even know we're in here!" Poochie tried licking at Buwaro-master's hand, but the teenager was not soothed. "They're not going to try and get to us or anything, they'll just take their time and we'll die in here! We-"

"Buwaro Ferai, _shut up_."

Buwaro-master shut up. Even Ray-friend looked stunned. "How did you know-"

The Eevee trainer cut him off. "Buwaro Ferai. Nineteen years old, trains a Mudkip and a Poochyena. Originally joined Team Rocket under technical conditions... and then proved completely incompetent with any machinery that had more than two buttons." Buwaro-master's mouth hung agape, his fear forgotten, as she turned to the blonde. "Ray Makai, also nineteen. Trains a pair of Beedrill. Technologically advanced in a way that just screams "I'm a video game geek" in capital letters."

"How do you know that?" Finally, it seemed like Poochie's master was coming out of his stupor. The brown-haired girl sighed.

"I know because I'm a part of Team Rocket, too." Reaching down into her collar, the girl pulled out a tiny gold emblem on a chain. Both males stared at the perfect little 'R' in stunned silence before the girl put it away again. "And I have access to pretty much any records I feel like reading. I looked into both of your profiles after our battle."

"You're high up," Ray-friend murmured quietly.

"Higher than you know. If you had reported our last encounter, you would never have been believed." Poochie could sense the mood changing as the girl sat with her back to the wall. "And then I would have had to have had you both fired. Not fun on my part."

"You're lying," Buwaro-master accused quietly. "You can't be that powerful."

Poochie watched the Eevee hop into her trainer's lap before looking back up at the girl's face. He'd been pretty sure her eyes were blue, but they looked black in the lack of light. "You want to make a wager on that?" Neither boy spoke. "Good. Then how about we make a little... business arrangement? You're both down on your luck, right?"

Poochie could swear Buwaro-master had complained about hearing those words once before...


	49. On the Run

Before anyone gets it in their head to mention it, I KNOW IT'S BEEN FOREVER, DAMN IT. I know I took just ages to update this chapter and I know you're all mad that you've had to wait. But I've had other crap on my plate. Live with it.

The fact of the matter is, I need a break from Anomaly. Yes, I know I've had one. Too bad.

As many of you recall, I moved last October. Well, that may have been a mistake in and of itself. First off, my computer died. It took a couple of months to repair it. I gained internet access on my mother's computer, only to never actually be able to get online. I can't find work and my family is living on two small paychecks a month because my stepdad's ex-wife suddenly decided she needs more money from him to pay for kids that might not even be his. It's depressing to me that I live here at all, because I always swore I would NEVER live with my biological mother, but somehow I ended up here anyway and it was NOT MY DECISION. And now my computer is trying to die again. And that's just the start of it. So if you REALLY want to get on me for updates, be my guest. Buwaro can laugh as I haul into you.

The fact of the matter is, right now I need to be working on something that makes me laugh. I'm not giving up on Anomaly, not at all. It's just going to continue to be a long time between updates. And in the meantime, I've re-written the first two chapters of an older story of mine. I just got those up today, in fact. Because when things get this bad, I need to write humor. Call it a defense. I need to make myself laugh.

I'm sorry if any of you are disappointed or angry with me, but please consider. I left behind the home I had known for twenty years- as long as I could remember- and tried to settle in somewhere colder, harsher, and where there's very nearly not enough work to live on. I still haven't found a job, and I've been searching desperately. Writing something this serious will only drag me down more.

But, as you all know, I don't give up, either. Eve is a piece of my heart. I will not let her story end this way.

And, on the plus side, I finally have something I've always wanted; a little black kitty cat that sits on my bed with me while I'm reading or typing, that purrs and plays games INSIDE the house, and that I can hug basically any time I want without being yelled at about my non-existent allergies. She's tiny for her age and oh-so-cute when she's playing, except when she decides that my hand is more entertaining than the ribbon. And even then she's cute. In a very vicious way. So I do have some things to cheer me up, and I'm plugging along like I always do.

Which reminds me, if anyone in or around the area of Salem, Oregon area wants a kitten, they need to email me. We have three of them that we need to find homes for. They're only about a month old now, but they are very cute and we're going to start looking for families for them in another month. If you live farther away than that, like in the Washington area, then that's fine too as long as you can get here to pick the kitten up. And maybe I'll even let you look at all the Mewtwo stuff people have sent me.

So, yeah. I've hit a rough patch and need to shift my interests for a while. I'm sorry if this displeases any of you, but just try to remember- this is not the end. Not of me, not of Anomaly, and not of Eve. I will be seeing you all later, even if it takes a few more months to get myself back to normal, and in the meantime I'll be working on my Yu Yu Hakusho story to keep my spirits up. Wait for me!

So let's go!

* * *

There had to be a reason for this headache.

Mewtwo's tail lashed as he made his way through the trees. The humiliation of being caught sleeping still burned. What was wrong with him lately, that he could have slipped so horrendously? He was more careful than that! How could he have fallen asleep in the middle of the day? And then to wake up nose-to-nose with _her_...

Just _what _did she think she had been doing?

Mewtwo stopped, his tail lashing again, but he ignored the sting as it struck something in favor of pressing one hand to his temple. Again, he had the distinct feeling that he had dreamt during his impromptu rest, and again he could not remember what the dream had been about, except for perhaps the slightest snatch of a voice... what had it been saying...

_Why_ did he smell _smoke_?

The clone turned, staring off into the trees, before lashing out with his mind. He found the tell-tale signatures of humans long before he should have, and could psychically 'taste' their emotions with more ease than was normal. And what emotions... panic... fear... confusion... amethyst eyes flew open. The Viridian base?! He gritted his teeth, leaping up into the trees and coming to land in mid-air before advancing towards the buildings... if there was anything left of them. Sticking to the shadows of the canopy, he flew as close as he dared before nightfall, trying to glean information. The minds of the humans were muddled in panic, the threads of their thoughts hard to separate, but finally he thought he could piece together a picture. Destruction reigned at the forefront of that picture, the main causes as far as the humans could tell being an Absol- he groaned inwardly at the thought- and an unidentified psychic. Mewtwo's fur rippled, one word summing up the entire course of his thoughts as he turned away from the maelstrom of thoughts and feelings.

Mew...

He stormed back towards the cavern, the shadows playing down over him as twilight fell. He could not sense Mew's presence as he neared the cave, but found Anti waiting anxiously up on the surface. Evetwo and her new friend were nowhere in sight, but he could feel them underground. "_Where is Mew?_"

"He went to take care of something." The phantom looked anxious. "He should be back soon, I hope..."

Mewtwo scowled to himself. Gone. Of _course _Mew would be gone the one time he genuinely wished to speak to him. The kitten's comings and goings seemed almost designed to annoy him at times. Scowling, he headed down into the caves. The human child, Ellie, was contentedly scratching away at a pad of paper in the corner and Evetwo... Mewtwo blinked, stepping back to peer further into the room. Where on earth was Evetwo? He finally spotted her curled up in her quilt, sleeping soundly. He eyed her critically. He could go back and attack right now, but he would need to know that she could flee if he did. Team Rocket had already lost almost all organization it had once had, and the humans were farther out in the forest than they had been before. Things would only grow worse when he finished off the base. He needed to know she could run.

"_Evetwo._" It only took a moment to rouse the sleeping female from her slumber. Ellie looked up curiously as she raised her head, a small noise like a whimper coming from her throat. Mewtwo forced himself to be patient as the smaller psychic looked around the room, seeking the source of his voice. He waited until her eyes fell on him before speaking again. "_I need to speak to you. This way._"

He let her get to her feet before heading for his own chamber, confident that she would follow. He stepped into the darkened space, lighting the fire with a flare of psychic energy, and turned towards the door just as Evetwo trudged in behind him. He allowed her a moment to rub at her eyes, observing the way her hunched shoulders made her look smaller. She blinked up at him sleepily, visibly stifling a yawn, and he felt his apprehensions growing. She did not look strong enough to be on her own... "_What did you want me for, big brother?_"

Mewtwo's shoulders stiffened at the questionable titling. Surely she was only half awake still, and did not know what she had called him. Yes, that must have been it. There was no need to worry about her picking up on Mew's silly notions; Evetwo undoubtedly liked him no more than he cared for her. More likely she was not quite aware of her surroundings yet. Perhaps she had even been dreaming when he roused her. She would be herself again once she fully came awake, then, and so he would ignore the slip. "_How soon can you be ready to leave this place?_"

That seemed to wake her up some. The little female looked up at him with widening eyes, her brow creasing in confusion. "_We're leaving? Already?_"

He nodded, explaining things so she would not argue. "_I came to this area because I knew it to be home to a prominent Team Rocket base. The base was attacked some time in the last day or so-_" her expression became startled, so he clarified quickly, "_not by me, but Team Rocket is starting to spread farther and farther into the forest because of it. There is a good risk that they may come too close to us in the process._" Mewtwo waited a moment, letting it all sink in, before he continued. "_It is no longer safe for you here. You need to take the child and run as far and as fast as you can._"

Evetwo looked apprehensive. "_And what are you going to do?_"

"_I am going to lure them away from you._"

The smaller psychic's eyes widened; _now_ she was awake. "_How are you going to do that?_"

Mewtwo turned away from her, looking towards the fire instead. "_It is my intention to attack what remains of the Viridian base. Once the buildings are demolished, I will take off in a different direction from the one you have set off in. I will then teleport sporadically, with any luck drawing attention near other bases until I feel it is safe to rejoin you._"

"_So you're going to attack them._" The tone of her psychic voice sounded to him like barely more than a whisper. How did she _do_ that? "_How will you find me when you're done?_"

"_I will have the benefit of knowing where to look._" If she listened to him, that was. "_I will lead you to the other side of Viridian City. From there, you and the child must travel north until you reach an underground cave. The area will be sufficiently rocky enough for you to hide until I come back._" He could practically feel her wanting to argue as he turned back towards her, telekinetically fetching his cloak from its resting place. Sure enough, the female even had her mouth partway open as she began to 'voice' a protest that was quickly cut off by shock- shock as he placed the fabric over her shoulders and began to tuck it around her neck by hand. The action was tailored to throw her off her mental balance, and it seemed to work well. "_This will help you camouflage your body, at the very least. We were not designed with hiding in mind._"

Evetwo's eyes were on his hands at her neck as she spoke again. "_I want to help you._"

"_That is not possible._" He moved slowly, taking his time to make sure the cloak was secure. The longer he took, the more thrown off she would be. The female shifted slightly under his hands, visibly uncomfortable.

"_But I can fight._"

He stared down at her, stepping back once the cloak was secure. Her expression was a little harder, but he could still see the fear and confusion in her eyes. "_You can fight,_" he complied, choosing to appease her a little instead of completely throwing her statement down and inciting her to argue further. "_But not against these odds. You are not yet skilled enough to enter a fight such as this._" He forced himself to meet her eyes levelly. "_And if you follow me, who will guard the child?_"

That silenced her completely. Mewtwo watched as the female struggled with her own indecision. If he knew her well- and she was simple enough to know- then she would choose to remain with the child. Her protective nature would be her downfall one day, but for now it was a handy tool he could use to convince her to go where he needed. He examined the way the cloak fell to the floor, draping over her almost completely. The effect made her look smaller than she was, although he suspected that part of that was because her shoulders were still slightly hunched. Still, he reminded himself, she was only small in comparison to _him_. To anyone else, she could still seem imposing.

Finally, she looked away from him. "_I'll go..._"

Mewtwo felt a cool satisfaction welling up inside of him. True, he could not guarantee that she would stay put... could almost guarantee that he would have to search for her... but the fact that she would at least follow his plans for a time was a victory. "_Gather your things,_" he ordered quietly, careful not to show any signs of smugness. Evetwo nodded quickly, skirting past him and out of the room. He watched her go, waiting until she had ducked back into her own room, before glancing back at the space that he had occupied for these few days time. The area meant nothing to him. He snuffed the fire as quickly as he had lit it and exited the room silently.

From the other room he could hear shuffling sounds, the tell-tale zipping sound of Evetwo's bag, and the human girl's inquisitive questioning. "But why does your brother want us to leave now?"

"_Because it's not safe anymore._" The sounds of rustling stopped as though Evetwo had paused, and then he heard a soft thumping sound. "_I told you, the people who made us weren't good people. If they find us now..._" The female's voice trailed off, and he knew without knowing that she was thinking of what she had already been forced to endure. He turned away from the door, heading up the steps and into the clearing above. He knew she would not keep him waiting for long.

* * *

Eve's heart was racing as she followed Mewtwo through the woods. They had to have been walking for nearly two hours now, Ellie trudging along behind her with the quilt wrapped over her shoulders to fight the evening chill. The sky was just beginning to become hazy with the oncoming sunset, and already a cool breeze had picked up. She shivered lightly, moving instinctively to tuck Mewtwo's cloak tighter around her. The brown fabric was heavy, sturdy and thick. Being careful to be sure that her brother's back was turned, she snuggled into the 'collar' slightly. It was warm... smelled kind of earthy... kind of nice, actually... she closed her eyes, sniffing a little more deeply, trying to identify the scent, before her eyes popped back open in realization. Ah, jeez... and she had to wear this thing?

"_This is the place._"

Eve's head snapped up almost guiltily as Mewtwo turned. His eyes caught hers, but he didn't make any comment as to the way she was huddled up in the cloak. He merely studied her for a moment before his eyes flicked towards Ellie behind her and then back up to her face. "_This is where I will be leaving you behind._" He nodded towards the forest behind him. "_You must continue in this direction to reach the rocks. If you feel you are lost, you should be able to see the proper direction from higher up in the trees..._" his eyes met hers, his expression serious. "_But do so only if you feel you absolutely must. Understood?_"

"_Yeah..._" she nodded slightly, shifting uncomfortably under his gaze. Why was he looking at her like that? He was looking her in the eye a lot more than when they'd met. It made her nervous... "_I understand._"

"_Then I will leave you here. Keep an eye on the child._"

She nodded slowly, feeling Ellie take hold of her hand. "_Be careful..._" Mewtwo turned and hovered a moment before sweeping into the air, his gaze only breaking from hers once he disappeared into the trees. Eve shivered. Lately he was acting just plain weird. It worried her...

Ellie tugged at her hand lightly. Glancing down, the clone could see that the human was scared. She frowned slightly, giving the human's fingers a squeeze. Ellie looked up at her. "He'll come back to get us, right?"

"_Of course he will,_" Eve said with a lot more confidence than she actually felt. Mewtwo would be back, he just _had_ to. She kept walking, gently pulling Ellie along as she buried her nose in the brown fabric again. Suddenly the scent on the cloak meant more than just that her 'brother' had worn it. If the cloth was important enough to him that he kept it and used it, then that smell also meant that he would definitely be back for it. _And them._ After all, Mewtwo was the strong one, right? He'd hit Team Rocket hard in the Sevii and come back. He'd probably join them long before sunrise...

Sunrise...

Eve felt a sudden pain in her chest. _Sunrise_. Something welled up, almost overwhelming her, something that she couldn't reach to identify it. A memory. There was a memory attached to this anxiety, some sort of root to this fear that he wouldn't return, but for some reason she just couldn't pull it out. What had happened to her _back then_ to make her feel this way now? Or... she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think her way through the pain. She could almost, almost touch the memory. Had something happened... to Kyle? Was that the reason the boy had failed his sister? The sunrise, it had something to do with the sunrise. What had happened in the sunrise?!

"Eve?" Oops. Now she was probably scaring the kid. Eve opened her eyes, looking down into Ellie's face. The girl seemed even more frightened than before, that was for sure. "Are... are you okay?"

The clone nodded numbly. Damn, this was _not_ the time to get lost in her memories. She glanced skywards, trying to see if they were on the right path. They seemed to be... "_Everything's going to be fine, Ellie. I promise._" She walked a little quicker, her pack weighing heavy on her shoulders- or was that just her nerves?- only to slow again when the human voiced a protest. Of course the girl couldn't keep up, Eve chided herself, her legs were considerably shorter. They picked their way through the woods at a slower pace, every moment of silence grating on Eve's nerves. Finally she could take it no more. She had to do something to break the calm. "_Hey, Ellie, what other stories are in that book?_"

The child looked up at her doubtfully before being rather rudely reminded to keep her eyes on the ground. Evetwo waited while she steadied herself again, their joined hands the only thing that kept the girl from sprawling onto her face. "There are lots of stories," Ellie answered as they started to walk again. "There's stuff on the higher legends, and stories about the regional ones, although those are short, and a few stories that are more about the places the Pokémon lived than the Pokémon themselves..."

Eve tried to settle on something that sounded at least mildly interesting. "_Are there stories about Arceus?_" Yeah, Arceus was supposed to be some sort of god, right? Sounded like something that would keep the human entertained...

Ellie looked up at her doubtfully, clearly not buying Eve's feigned interest. "I thought you thought Arceus sounded silly."

"_I'm hoping it'll make some sense now,_" the psychic said as solemnly as she could.

The little brown-haired girl wasn't convinced, but she nodded anyway, and Eve realized she must have been just as distressed by the silence as she was. The human waited until she'd climbed over a small fallen tree to start talking. "Arceus is a lot like God from the Bible, although some people don't like it if you talk about it that way. According to all the most ancient legends, Arceus actually is God, just in a different form. But a lot of those myths are so old that nobody knows them any more." Another log had to be traversed with great care, the girl's small hands reaching and feeling carefully, and Eve realized with a start that Ellie couldn't see nearly as well as she could in the growing darkness. Damn... that was going to make this harder... "Honestly, I just don't think some people liked the idea of the Almighty being a Pokémon. You hear loads more about Palkia and Dialga in the books than you do about Arceus."

Eve suddenly recalled the way some of the scientists at the lab had looked down on her as though she was less than them for not being human. "_That makes sense,_" she mumbled as she waited for Ellie to adjust her own smaller bag. The twilight was starting to give way now, the first stars visible through the trees. Evetwo fought a shiver that made the fur along her spine ridge sharply. It couldn't have been that cold yet. She pulled the cloak around her tighter.

Ellie looked at her with a serious expression. "Eve, you're young, so you might not know this yet, but a lot of people just don't think Pokémon are as smart as humans. That's why so many of them would be offended if a Pokémon was God. They all want God to be like a human."

Eve stared at her blankly. "_And what do you think?_"

"I think God is God," the girl answered seriously. "He's not a Pokémon _or_ a person. Or maybe He's both, depending on His mood."

The clone raised an eyebrow doubtfully. "_You think someone can be both?_"

Brown curls bobbed as Ellie tilted her head. "Well, I'm sure God could if He wanted to. And I've met Pokémon who seemed like people, and people who reminded me of Pokémon. Like you." Eve looked down, into the child's wide, innocent eyes. "Sometimes I can't tell if you're a Pokémon at all, or maybe a person hiding inside a Pokémon." Eve's throat tightened as Ellie rambled on. "I think subjective is what they call it, but I'm not sure. It wasn't a very common word. But we're getting off topic. You wanted to talk about Arceus."

"_Of course..._" Eve kicked a rock out of her way, focusing on their direction and the ground in front of her. Her insides felt numb now. "_So, what's Arceus look like? It's kind of hard for me to picture a god off the top of my head..._"

"No one really knows." Eve heard a soft thump as Ellie kicked what was probably the exact same rock that she had. "The closest the legends ever really come to an actual description is that Arceus has a thousand arms. I think that's supposed to be speaking poetically, myself. But he's also said to look down on everything, so I bet he's really big."

The psychic nodded slowly, trying to bite back the urge to comment. She failed miserably. "_And how big is really big?_"

Ellie rolled her eyes. "As big as he wants to be," the human retorted. "He could probably be big enough that he could step on you, if he wanted."

"_It'd be kind of hard to hide if you were that big,_" Eve noted as she ducked under a low branch. There was a sigh from behind her.

"Arceus doesn't live on Earth, silly. He lives in the Hall of Origins."

"_Of course. Where's that?_"

:Not on Earth," Ellie replied with a scowl. "It's probably in some nice, neat little dimension where-" The child cut off suddenly, yelping slightly. Eve turned just as she fell, her face contorting slightly in pain. "Oww..."

Eve rushed back, kneeling next to the girl as best as she could. "_What happened? Are you okay?_"

Ellie nodded slowly, pulling one of her feet in towards her. "I caught on a root. I'm sorry..." The human reached over, resting a hand on Eve's shoulder, and Eve let her lean on it to try and stand. A whimper escaped Ellie's throat as she stood shakily. "Ow..."

Eve swallowed as the child took a few shaky steps. This wasn't going to do. This wasn't going to do at all. "_Come here._" Ellie looked up at her in confusion before stepping back towards her, stumbling on the way. Eve caught her, scooping her up in the process. Ellie tried to protest, but the psychic cut her off. "_It's fine. You're lightweight._"

The top of the brown head bobbed as Ellie nodded. Eve grunted inwardly, wishing the girl really was that light, before she started walking again. Honestly, it was still faster going now than it had been having to wait for Ellie. She felt the human rest her head on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"_Don't worry about it,_" Eve insisted, looking around. Ah, cake. "_Hang on tight, okay? I have to go up and check our progress._" There was a nod against her neck as Ellie slipped her hands around Eve's shoulders. The clone waited until she was situated before drifting upwards. It only took her a moment to find their course and drop back down to the ground. Ellie's fingers were clenching her fur rather painfully, and she found herself deeply wishing she wasn't alone. Even if her brothers weren't here, it would be nice to have someone other than a frightened child to talk to... closing her eyes, she remembered fighting alongside Scyther and Fervo and Flame. None of them would be afraid right now over something as silly as being by themselves. Hell, Scyther had survived worse than she had and he still kept moving. She could do that, too, if she tried. She could keep moving. She started walking again. "_We're going to be okay, Ellie. I promise._"

Now if only she could convince herself that the shadows weren't moving, too, maybe she could believe it herself...


End file.
